STAR Hotshots guard Mark Barroca displayed leadership and veteran smarts to gain the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week nod after leading the Hotshots to a 2-0 start in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup.
The 5-10 Barroca beat Star teammate Peter June Simon, Meralco Bolts young guard Baser Amer and Jared Dillinger, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters sophomore point guard Maverick Ahanmishi, Mahindra Floodbuster’s Ryan Arana, Alaska Aces rookie forward Carl Cruz and TNT Ka Tropa’s Jayson Castro for the weekly citation for the period of March 20-26.
Stepping up in place of combo guard Paul Lee, who is playing through a knee injury, Barroca came off the bench to provide the much needed spark, firing 17 points and adding two steals in 23 minutes as Star debuted this conference with a 101-82 rout of Phoenix last Wednesday.
Three days later, Barroca churned out an all-around effort of eight points, five rebounds, the same number of assists and two steals, while helping Star contain two-time PBA Scoring champion Terrence Romeo. The Hotshots registered a runaway 103-77 demolition of GlobalPort.
The Hotshots join the Meralco Bolts (3-0), defending champion Rain or Shine (3-0) and Alaska Aces (2-0) as the unbeaten squads this conference. San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra are the two remaining teams that have yet to see action this conference after figuring in the best-of-seven championship series in the Philippine Cup last month.
Barroca, the 2014 Philippine Cup Finals MVP, is expected to play a bigger role for a Star side that is looking to make a fitting followup to its semifinal appearance in the Philippine Cup where it eventually lost to Barangay Ginebra in seven games.
Star has several days to prepare, before returning to action against winless NLEX this Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
