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THE INAUGURAL BALLER AWARDS: THE BEST SMALL FORWARD OF 2013
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In lieu of a PBA year-ender, I felt it would be better to go position-by-position and look at the best PBAers of 2013. These are the guys who did really well in the pro circuit. Perhaps they led their teams to conference titles. Perhaps they led the league in a certain statistical category. Perhaps they were part of Gilas Pilipinas and helped the team make history. Perhaps they did all of those things.
In this post, we will look at the top PBA small forwards of the year and award the Baller Award to the Best PBA Small Forward of 2013.
The Small Forward Nominees:
Calvin Abueva – Alaska Aces
Say what you want about how Abueva gets under everyone’s skin, including yours, but nobody can deny the fact he can ball with the best of ‘em. The former Golden Stag played well enough this year to not only put the ROY-MVP convo back on the table, but he also led the Aces to their first PBA title after Tim Cone left. Abueva would eventually win the season ROY, and even get an invite to try out for Gilas Pilipinas mid-year (he didn’t show up, though). He continues to be a thorn on every opponent’s side, but also continues to be one of the most versatile swingmen in the country.
KG Canaleta – Air21 Express and Gilas Pilipinas Cadets
He was the deadliest shooter for the Gilas Pilipinas Cadets early in 2013. He was named the season’s Most Improved Player. He recorded career-highs in scoring (16.7ppg), three-pointers made (101 total, 2.6 per game), and three-point shooting percentage (36.9%). He earned every single accolade he got. Now the one-trick pony dunker can shoot the lights out consistently and has the confidence to mix it up with the elite forwards of the league. Watch out.
Gabe Norwood – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and Gilas Pilipinas
Gabe Norwood doesn’t have eye-poppingly impressive stats from last season, but how great he is can never be measured by conventional basketball metrics anyway. He’s the Mr. Intangible of the PBA and, apparently, FIBA Asia 2013, too. The former Goerge Mason University playmaker’s numbers all went down this past season, except for one – steals. He upped his steals from 0.9 per game in 2012 to 1.1 per game in 2013. He was also Gilas’s best defender, making life tough for guys like Jimmy Baxter, Jarvis Hayes, and Cho Sung-Min. Remember his late block on Kim Min-Goo in the semifinals that basically clinched the win for us? Yeah, I still replay that in my head each night.
Joe Devance – San Mig Super Coffee Mixers
Yes, Devance isn’t the typical SF. In fact, he plays PF or even C sometimes for the Mixers, but who are we kidding here? He’s a natural 3 playing out of position as a 4 or even 5. In the Mixers’ conquest of Petron in the 2013 Govs’ Cup, Devance normed around 12 points in three of SMC’s wins, including hitting three big triples and ending up with 11 markers in the seventh game.
Danny Seigle – Talk N Text Tropang Texters (currently, but he played for Barako Bull Energy last season)
It’s funny it took so long for a team to sign someone as good and timeless as Dynamite Danny. I mean, yes, he was on a bad team, but he was still a very productive small forward. He scored about a dozen points and pulled down about five rebounds in barely 21 minutes of play per game. For a guy who turned 37 in 2013? Those are really awesome numbers. He’s also doing well with the Texters now, averaging about 8 points and 7 boards per outing.
And the BALLER goes to…
GABE NORWOOD
Another toughie. Toss-up between KG and Gabe, but I’ll give Gabe the nod here really because of how invaluable he was in Gilas Pilipinas’s FIBA World Cup drive. The way he shackled most of the guys he was tasked to defend was a sight to behold, and, man, he was on-target with those midrange pull-ups, too. The great thing about Gabe is his timing. He knows when to make the plays that really count.
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EDITORS' PICK
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