THE TOP FIVE PBA SHOOTING GUARDS OF THE 2014 SEASON
First off, congratulations to the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers for bagging not just the Governors’ Cup crown but also the elusive PBA Grand Slam. Of course, one of the main reasons the Mixers prevailed was superb shooting guard James Yap, who drilled in 29 points in the title-clinching fifth and final game of their series with the Rain or Shine Elasto-Painters. Yap, naturally, is one of the country’s best players, but was his production this past season enough to make him a top five two-guard in the league? Let’s see.
Without further ado, here they are – the top five shooting guards of the entire 2013-2014 PBA season (as always, this is based on the Player Efficiency ratings):
5. Mark Caguioa (GIN) – 10.6ppg, 4.1rpg, 2.0apg, .360 3pt%, .806 FT%, 25.1 EFF
Caguioa had one of his best three-point shooting seasons in 2014, making 36% of his trey attempts, which is the second-best season mark of his career. His free throw shooting also went up from 73% in 2013, but, strangely enough, his overall scoring went down from 17.2ppg in 2013 to just over 10 points per outing this season. The reason? Well, Ginebra had an influx of talent with the arrival of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar. They ate up a lot of possessions and shots for the Kings, which should explain Caguioa’s somewhat diminished role in Ginebra’s ever-changing system.
4. Marcio Lassiter (SMB) – 12.6ppg, 3.5rpg, 2.5apg, 1.9 triples per game, .356 3pt%, 26.1 EFF
Lassiter started the season like a house on fire, helping the Beermen to a huge win streak in the Philippine Cup, but the former Gilas sniper once again was bitten by the injury bug and his performance dipped as the season progressed. His 1.9 treys per outing is still an enviable number, of course, but San Miguel fans are definitely still aching to see just exactly how good Lassiter can be. At his best, he’s the shooting guard nonpareil of the country, but he has been at his best very, very rarely.
3. Joseph Yeo (AIR) – 12.4ppg, 4.1rpg, 4.3apg, 1.6 triples per game, .325 3pt%, 27.3 EFF
Yeo is one of the biggest reasons Air 21 had a very memorable 2014 campaign. Nobody really expected much from the Express especially after they let KG Canaleta go, but Yeo, along with Sean Anthony and Asi Taulava, has really carried the cudgels for this squad. He’ll be shipped back to the SMC group soon, however, and I fear we’ll see more of him on the bench than on the floor. That’s a pity, of course, since this season proved that all Yeo really needs is the right amount of playing time to be able to produce at an All-Star level.
2. PJ Simon (SMC) – 13.6ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.6apg, .357 3pt%, .479 FG%, 27.6 EFF
One just has to appreciate PJ Simon for what he is – a bona fide scorer. He had the most points this past season (892 total), had the most two-pointers made (302 total), and had the most field goals made (359 total). He won’t do much else, but, man, what he does, he does outstandingly. I mean, this is the only guard in the top ten (not counting Mike Cortez, who played just 15 games all season) of the league’s leaders in FG%. That in itself is insane. Sure, James Yap erupts in the big games, but to get to those big games, the Mixers had to win a bunch of smaller ones, and that’s where Simon makes his money.
1. Gary David (MER) – 16.4ppg, 4.6rpg, 1.9apg, 1.8 triples per game, .332 3pt%, .799 FT%, 30.3 EFF
Outside of Jayson Castro, Gary David is the league’s best scoring guard. He is, after all, El Granada. He makes nearly two threes per game and makes more than 33% of his shots form rainbow country. He is also, get this, the best rebounding guard in the league, collaring 4.6 per outing. So, okay, David is the top-scoring two-guard, a super sniper, and a beast on the boards. Yes, his Bolts could do much better as a team, but it’s not for David’s lack of trying. He is the best shooting guard in the country today. No debate about it.
Outside looking in:
Terrence Romeo (GLO) – 24.9 EFF
Jeff Chan (ROS) – 24.6 EFF
James Yap (SMC) – 24.6 EFF
Enzo Flojo is new here on the PBA site, but he has been writing about all things basketball for quite some time now. You can read more of his stuff on his nationally-recognized blog, HoopNut.com, on the college hoops site, InboundPass.com, on Rappler Sports, on Asia-Basket.com, or you can follow him on Twitter — @HoopNut.
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