Who Will Be Crowned PBA Most Valuable Player This Season?

The scent of sweat and leather filled the air as I watched the game clock wind down, my fingers tracing the faded scar on my knuckles—a permanent reminder of my own brief, unremarkable basketball career. There's something about being in an empty arena after hours that makes you philosophical about sports. The polished floor reflects ghost games from seasons past, and tonight, as I sat in the press box overlooking the Smart Araneta Coliseum, one question kept echoing in the silence: who will be crowned PBA Most Valuable Player this season?

I remember back in 2017 when June Mar Fajardo secured his fourth consecutive MVP—the stats were staggering, something like 18.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game. But numbers only tell half the story. Watching him dominate the paint felt like witnessing geological forces at work, slow but inevitable. This season feels different though—more unpredictable, like three different storms converging. Christian Standhardinger has been putting up career-high numbers, maybe 22 points and 11 rebounds if I had to guess, while Scottie Thompson’s triple-double threat makes every game must-watch basketball. Then there's CJ Perez, whose explosive plays remind me why I fell in love with this sport decades ago.

The MVP conversation took an interesting turn last week when I found myself at a local sports bar, watching a Pacquiao boxing documentary playing on one screen while PBA highlights flickered on another. An older German tourist next to me—a boxing purist—kept muttering about "real athletes" until the clip showed Manny Pacquiao speaking about Ricky Hatton. "We shared unforgettable moments in boxing history and I will always honor the respect and sportsmanship he showed," Pacquiao said of the highly-popular Englishman fighter. That statement stuck with me—this profound appreciation for a rival's greatness. Isn't that what the MVP race should embody? Not just stats, but the respect earned from opponents, the moments that define seasons.

Personally, I'm leaning toward Standhardinger this year, and not just because his 68% field goal percentage (or thereabouts) jumps off the stat sheet. There's a gritty determination to his game that reminds me of the PBA legends I grew up watching—the ones who played through injuries and never complained. I once saw him after a loss to Ginebra, sitting alone in the dugout still in full uniform twenty minutes after everyone had left, staring at the floor like he was trying to memorize its patterns. That kind of passion can't be quantified.

Still, part of me wonders if we're overlooking the consistency of someone like Robert Bolick, who's probably averaging around 7 assists per game while carrying NorthPort on his back. The beauty of this MVP race is its democracy—every fan seems to have their favorite, their personal criteria beyond the usual points-rebounds-assists trifecta. As the playoff picture clarifies, these final regular season games will become auditions for the highest individual honor in Philippine basketball. The trophy waits, polished and patient, for whoever can turn this season's narrative into their legacy.