Amidst the din of the magnificent 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals,
several issues have popped up in the PBA: the entry of Stanley Pringle
in the 2014 Rookie Draft, the perceived controversy revolving around the
draft lottery, and the whole officiating hullabaloo. These nearly take
away the sheer enjoyment of seeing Justin Melton sky for a sublime
alley-oop dunk, seeing AZ Reid drain big shots in overtime, or seeing
James Yap morph into his MVP self after repeated underwhelming
performances in the eliminations.
This is why, in the middle of all this craziness, I want to shift the
focus back on the players who have really made their mark this past
season. For this particular piece, let’s focus on the best playmakers of
the entire 2014 PBA campaign.
Without further ado, here they are – the top five point guards of the
entire 2014 PBA season (as always, this is based on the Player
Efficiency ratings)
5. Mark Barroca (SMC) – 10.9ppg, 3.8rpg, 3.4apg, 1.6spg, 27.3 EFF
Barroca started the season like a house on fire, leading the Mixers
in scoring in the Philippine Cup before deferring a little bit more and
eventually ending up as a back-up as the season wore on. He has adjusted
really well, however, playing in tandem with rookie Justin Melton to
form a truly fast and furious backcourt pair. Barroca has the
second-highest assists total for the season, is second in terms of
steals per game, and has the highest number of total thefts. Strangely
enough, he also has the most turnovers with 141.
4. JV Casio (ALA) – 12.6ppg, 3.5rpg, 3.0apg, 2.3 triples per game, .383 3pt%, .779 FT%, 27.5 EFF
Throughout all the trials and tribulations that have enveloped th
Aces this past season, Casio has remained one of the consistently good
things Gatas Republik could count on in every occasion. He continues to
be one of the league’s deadliest and streakiest shooters, and he has
also proven to be a very capable playmaker who can find his teammates
for easy buckets. Casio placed third overall in terms of 3-point
percentage and total threes made for the season.
3. LA Tenorio (GIN) – 11.2ppg, 4.3rpg, 5.5apg, 1.3spg, 1.2 triples per game, .830 FT%, 28.0 EFF
The Lieutenant has been on the receiving end of a lot of flak after
the Gin Kings failed to make the most of their roster, which boasts a
lot talent and a lot of size. Some people think Tenorio might not be the
best PG to facilitate the kind of system Tim-Cone-disciple Jeff Cariaso
brings to Ginebra, but one cannot discount the fact that the Gilas
Pilipinas floor general is still one of the most efficient and iconic
players in the country. For the 2014 season, Tenorio was second in
assists per game, tops in total assists, third both in steals per game
and total steals, and fourth overall in FT%. His turnover numbers
weren’t good, however, as he coughed the rock up 2.6 times per game,
which is the worst among all PBA point guards.
2. Alex Cabagnot (GLO) – 13.1ppg, 4.4rpg, 6.2apg, 1.3spg, 1.4 triples per game, .311 3pt%, 31.6 EFF
If you’re surprised Cabagnot still ranks among the best point guards
in the league despite being on the worst team, well, you’re definitely
not the only one. Still, we cannot sleep on the fact that the former
Petron Blaze Booster remains a top-grade playmaker who served as a
mentor of sorts to both Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia. In his 2014
campaign, Cabaggie led the entire country in assists per game, was third
in total dimes, fourth overall in steals per game, and third overall in
assist-to-turnover ratio (3.3 assists per turnover right behind Emman
Monfort and Gabe Norwood).
1. Jayson Castro (TNT) – 16.8ppg, 4.0rpg, 4.2apg, 1.6 triples per game, .369 3pt%, .788 FT%, 33.7 EFF
It stands to reason that the best point guard in Asia is the best
point guard in the Philippines, right? Yes, and it was generally true
this past season as Castro led the Texters in most games. He made some
questionable decisions, of course, but, by and large, he proved he was
the very best at his position. He is, after all, in the running for
Season MVP after winning the Best Player of the Conference award in the
2014 Commissioner’s Cup. He is coming off perhaps his best offensive
season ever, registering career-highs in scoring, three-point shooting,
and free throw accuracy. He also still made better than 40% of his field
goals in spite of increasingly tight defensive coverage from opponents.
It’s all good practice, of course, for the coming World Cup, but I’m
sure Castro would have preferred to also win at least one title this
past season to add to his team’s collection of accomplishments. In terms
of being among league leaders, Castro led the PBA in scoring this
season, was fifth overall in total assists, and fourth overall in
three-point percentage.
Outside looking in:
Paul Lee (ROS) – 27.2 EFF
Sol Mercado (SMB) – 26.3 EFF
Chris Ross (SMVB) – 24.5 EFF
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