The Final Score: The strange race for PBA MVP - Alapag, Caguioa, Santos, Tenorio

A question leads to many answers. Sino ang pinaka-magaling? It's a simple query. Normally answerable by choosing A or B. This time, it's not so simple. If I ask four colleagues "Who's your season MVP?", I will receive four different answers. To choose a best player of the year isn't easy. But it also shouldn't be this difficult. Jimmy Alapag leads a possible grand slam team. He's still one of the best point guards. Yet he is now more mentor to fast-rising Jason Castro and less TNT's franchise player. If Jimmy becomes MVP, it won't be because of stats. Alapag produced 14 ppg and 6 apg before the Governor's Cup. Thanks to injuries and Castro's expanding role, Alapag produces just 6 ppg and 5 apg in the third conference. Why should he be MVP? Because of one BPC, two co-Finals MVP awards and potentially three straight PBA championships to justify the choice. Mark Caguioa is having a great year. If you had serious doubts Caguioa could be this good...again, it's okay. He probably shared those same doubts too. When he was missing shots last year. When his body refused to follow what his brain wanted to do. All in the past. He's firing 20 ppg in the Governors' Cup. He's averaging 24.5 points in the last 4 games. He's creating a strong final impression. Why should he be MVP? Because if he brings Ginebra to the Finals, he could win BPC and could convince voters that his comeback performance this season merits (finally) a first ever season MVP trophy. Arwind Santos is a stat-machine. 15 ppg and 10 rpg for the season; nice. 16.5 ppg, 14 rpg and 1.5 bpg in the Governor's Cup; nicer. 22 ppg and 19 rpg in an insane stretch of 4 games during the third conference; yikes. Maybe Arwind doesn't lead the way Jimmy does. Or takes over ballgames the way Mark does. But can anyone score and rebound the way Arwind does. Even without Jay Washington by his side. He can also push Petron into a second Finals appearance with one more stat-crazy game. Why should he be MVP? Because he's the only guy among MVP contenders who can score 20 points and grab 20 rebounds on 3 straight nights. LA Tenorio is clearly Alaska's best local player. But is he good enough to be the league's top performer. He has solid numbers: 13 ppg 5 rpg and 5 apg this season. But unlike Alapag, LA doesn't have the Finals appearances to support his case. Yet unlike Tenorio, Alapag has more talented teammates to pass to and rely on. Where would Alaska be without Tenorio? The answer is obvious. Are LA's career-best numbers (Joe Devance, who's norming 16 ppg and 8 rpg this season, has a similar case) enough to make him MVP? The answer is not as clear. Alapag? Caguioa? Santos? Someone else? To become MVP is hard. To choose a unanimous one seems even harder. -- GMA News