The Final Score: Peter June Simon is B-Meg’s scorer among scorers

The winning numbers are in: 23-42-16-25-19-26. If you used these for the Grand Lotto, you would’ve lost. Yet for Peter June Simon, these figures prove that he’s having a jackpot of a season. A depleted team presents a plump opportunity. Simon has taken advantage of B-Meg’s injuries, taking in the extra minutes, taking on the extra burden to perform like a madman. His scoring output in the last six games: 23-42-16-25-19-26. There’s a group called the “Simonatics". They’ve asked me to greet them on-air. At the rate Simon is going, I will have to grant the request soon. It’s easy to see why fans go crazy over Simon. Out of all B-Meg guards, he’s the one playing out of his mind. How one scores 42 points in 40 minutes, miss just two field goals and commit just one turnover is insane. And as crazy as it sounds, Simon is helping B-Meg stay in contention without Kerby Raymundo, Rafi Reavis and Marc Pingris (missed B-Meg’s first 10 games). “Para siyang precision shooter," Richard Del Rosario, B-Meg Assistant Coach, says. “Kasi yung mga short jumpers niya sakto lang. Hindi pa-banda. Mahirap gawin yun lalo na kapag pull-up jumper." During taping day for FTW, the online sports show of GMANews.TV, I ask the guys if they feel Simon is playing better than James Yap. They all respond, quickly shifting their attention from the six boxes of pizza on the table to where I’m sitting, with different versions of “Yes!" They all give me a look as if to say, “Mico, kailangan pa ba i-memorize yan?!!" After all, Simon’s playing like a franchise player for a team that already has one. And the original franchise player’s name isn’t Peter June Simon. In past seasons, I’ve seen Simon play well in games only to sit down when Yap’s ready to return. It’s the role of the Super Sub. It’s the curse of the Super Sub. Several times, I caught Simon shake his head as he marched back to the bench. It’s never easy to play back-up to a two-time MVP. It’s even more difficult to thrive when you play on borrowed time. But it’s doable. If a forty-third over-all draft pick, bereft of hubris, driven by a simple desire to succeed, can score forty two points in a PBA game, then, anything is. “Mabait na player si PJ," Del Rosario adds. “Very coachable kasi mahilig magtanong." So I ask: what should we call Simon? When I cover B-Meg games on television, I can’t bring myself to refer to Simon as simply P.J. or Nonoy. It doesn’t feel right. I always have to say all three names: Peter, June, Simon. Say every syllable with feeling. It’s similar to Simon’s scoring style; relentless in going for one, two or three attempts at the basket. The Sixth Man? The Super Sub? How about we drop “Sixth" and just say he’s “The Man". How about we drop the “Sub" and just call Simon’s hot streak what it really is: “Super". -- GMANews.TV Editor's note: Click on the video below for the FTW webisode with Mico Halili, Magoo Marjon and Eric Reyes discussing the concept of the sixth man and the player that best fits this description: Peter June Simon
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