THE TOP FIVE #PBA2015 SHOOTING GUARDS RIGHT NOW
Historically speaking, the PBA has always featured great shooting guards. I remember idolizing guys like Ato Agustin, Allan Caidic, Jojo Lastimosa, Jeffrey Cariaso, and Kenneth Duremdes in the 90s and then guys like Dondon Hontiveros, Mark Caguioa, Ren-Ren Ritualo, and James Yap inherited their mantles in the early-to-late 2000s. Lately, young up-and-comers like Marcio Lassiter and Terrence Romeo have hogged the limelight alongside veterans Jeff Chan, Gary David, and Ryan Reyes. As of today, however, who do you think are the top-performing two-guards in the pros?
Without further ado, here they are – the top five shooting guards of the 2015 PBA season as of November 10, 2014:
- Chico Lanete (BAR) – 12.0ppg, 3.7rpg, 1.7apg, 1.0spg, .519 FG%, 25.7 EFF
Lanete’s natural position is a point guard, but he has mainly filled the shooting guard role for the Energy as Denok Miranda and Jonas Villanueva alternate as primary playmakers. What jumps out here is Lanete’s FG%. At nearly 52%, that is mighty impressive for a guy who plies his trade along the perimeter. His big 21-point outburst against Meralco last October 22 was the main catalyst for his inspired performance so far.
- Mark Caguioa (GIN) – 10.5ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.5apg, .556 FG%, 25.8 EFF
At just 21 minutes per game, Caguioa is no longer playing as much as before. He’s also certainly not the main scorer or facilitator for the Gin Kings. With coach Jeffrey Cariaso choosing to run his offense through LA Tenorio and focus on the gifts of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar, Caguioa has somewhat been forced to the periphery, but that doesn’t mean he has become irrelevant. Far from it , of course, as The Spark continues to be a reliable scoring option for Ginebra. I mean, he is making around 56% of his shots! That, folks, is a career-high right now.
- Marcio Lassiter (SMB) – 12.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 2.4apg, 1.8 triples per game, .300 3pt%, 26.2 EFF
Lassiter has been the Beermen’s boom-or-bust guy so far. He dropped 13 in their first game and then was limited to just 2 points in their next match. He followed that up with 20 markers against Barako Bull before tossing only 4 against Alaska. Most recently, he torched NLEX for 22 points, which increased his average to more than a dozen markers a game. Lassiter is surely one of the most talented and athletic SGs in the country, but, for SMB to really make a deep run, he needs to be more consistent.
- Jeff Chan (ROS) – 12.2ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.6apg, 1.6spg, 1.4 triples per game, .304 3pt%, 26.5 EFF
Even if his numbers put him at #2 on this list, Jeff Chan hasn’t really enjoyed the strongest of starts so far. His 30.4% clip from downtown isn’t that impressive, and hitting just 1.4 triples per game is certainly below par for the Gilas sniper. He has improved defensively, though, which compensates a little bit for his shooting woes, but, come on, ROS already has guys like Ryan Araña and Jireh Ibañes for defense. The Painters need Chan to spread the floor and rifle in those trifectas.
1. Mac Cardona (NLEX) – 18.2ppg, 4.6rpg, 1.8apg, 1.0spg, 33.1 EFF
Despite NLEX’s middling 2-3 slate, Cardona tops our list of SGs to start the 2015 season mainly because of his consistency. He hasn’t scored fewer than 13 points in a game yet, and his offensive performance has been a good barometer for the Road Warriors’ success so far. In his team’s two wins, Cardona has put up 22.5 points per game, while in its three defeats, that average has gone down to 15.3. Asi Taulava may be the heart and soul of NLEX, but Cardona is its bread-and-butter scoring option.
Outside looking in:
PJ Simon (PUR) – 25.0 EFF
Jonathan Uyloan (ROS) – 24.9 EFF
Ryan Reyes (TNT) – 24.7 EFF
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