As the front-runners for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference title, Arvin Tolentino, Robert Bolick, and June Mar Fajardo had another chance to defeat him.

In the league’s most recent statistical points rankings, which were made public on Tuesday after the holiday break, Tolentino and Bolick are both lagging behind the eight-time MVP.

With an average of 19.8 points, 4.5 assists, and a league-high 17.3 rebounds for the reigning champs, the 6-foot-10 Fajardo is once again leading the field with 44.8 rebounds.

With ten BPC awards, Fajardo holds the record for most in league history. Most recently, he defeated Tolentino and Bolick to win the conference’s top individual accolade at the season-opening Governors’ Cup.

With 40.8 sps, Tolentino behind Fajardo at No. 2, and Bolick is in third place with 37.6 sps.

With 24.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.1 block shots, the Northport forward leads the league in scoring and leads the Batang Pier to a 6-1 record at the top of the rankings.

With an average of 7.9 per game, Bolick is the league’s leading assist. The NLEX shooter added 3.1 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and an average of 24.1 points.

Jordan Heading, a shooting guard for Converge, is the only rookie to make the Top 10 list at No. 5 with 33.1 points (17.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists), while Calvin Oftana of TNT is ranked fourth with 34.3 points (21.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.0 assists).

With 32.9 sps, led by his league-high 2.4 steals, Joshua Munzon, another Northport player, is putting himself forward. He is followed by Chris Newsome of Meralco (32.6 sps) and Alec Stockton, a guard for Converge (31.4 sps). 

Barangay Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson, a two-time BPC champion, is ranked ninth with 29.5 sps, while Rain or Shine’s Leonard Santillan is ranked tenth with 27.8 sps.

Meanwhile, in Tuesday night’s PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena, TNT defeated Meralco 101-99 after RONDAE Hollis-Jefferson made two free throws with 10 seconds remaining.

Meralco rallied late from a 23-point deficit, but Hollis-Jefferson’s timely heroics allowed TNT to maintain its third consecutive victory.

While playing with five fouls, Hollis-Jefferson managed to stay on the floor long enough to make the game-winning free throws, scoring 24 points and pulling down 13 rebounds.

Calvin Oftana scored 24 points on an effective 9-for-15 shooting from the field, including three treys, as TNT continued to improve after a 0–2 start to the conference.

“In the end, the players made big plays. I guess that’s the story of the game,” Coach Chot Reyes noted.

At one point in the game, Meralco, which dropped to 4-3 after losing for the second time in its past three games, even took the lead, 97-94, after falling down, 44-21.

After Roger Pogoy’s three-pointer tied the game, Hollis-Jefferson’s short stab with 1:09 remaining gave TNT a 99-97 edge.

With 59.6 seconds remaining, Chris Banchero equalized with a sprinting shot. The TNT immigrant was able to drain the marginal free throws after Akil Mitchell reached in and fouled Hollis-Jefferson with the Bolts in penalties after a series of misses.

Reyes claimed that Meralco’s comeback was made possible by their mistakes and foul trouble. Additionally, Poy Erram was sidelined for portions of the game due to five fouls.

The Tropang Giga, who play Converge on Saturday, received 15 points from Rey Nambatac and 12 from Pogoy.

For the Bolts, who will play NLEX on Friday, Mitchell finished with 24 points, 18 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals, while Newsome finished with 19 points and eight assists.

The Scores

TNT 101 – Hollis-Jefferson 24, Oftana 24, Nambatac 15, Pogoy 12, Castro 7, Erram 6, Aurin 5, Galinato 5, Khobuntin 3, Varilla 0, Razon 0.

Meralco 99 – Mitchell 24, Newsome 19, Banchero 14, Quinto 12, Black 8, Hodge 6, Rios 5, Almazan 4, Bates 4, Cansino 3, Caram 0.

Quarter scores: 27-17; 52-35; 79-68; 101-99.