CJ Perez and good old Jayson Castro lead the initial batch of players to be recognized in the coming PBA Press Corps Awards Night for Season 47.
Perez of the San Miguel Beermen, is the recipient of the Scoring Champion award, while Castro, the pillar of the TNT Tropang Giga, will receive the Order of Merit from the group of men and women who cover the PBA beat.
The awards rites are set on Nov. 20 at Novotel Manila Araneta City.
Also to be honored is the opener of the Philippine Cup finals between TNT and San Miguel as the Game of the Season.
The 29-year-old Perez averaged 18.75 points last season to lead the league anew in scoring and establish his name as one of the finest offensive players in the PBA today.
He previously led the league in scoring in 2019 and 2020, respectively.
Castro on the other hand, topped the Order of Merit after emerging with the most number of Cignal Play-Player of the Week honors.
The veteran guard actually ended up tied with Mark Barroca, Christian Standhardinger, Perez, and Encho Serrano, the only rookie to be named Player of the Week twice.
But Castro earned the PBAPC nod after emerging back-to-back winners during the semifinal stretch of thePhilippine Cup between TNT and Magnolia.
Incidentally, the 37-year-old Castro, an eight-time champion and five-time recipient of the Best Player of the Conference plum, figured prominently in the Game of the Season between TNT and San Miguel during Game 1 of the Philippine Cup finals.
Castro won it for the Tropang Giga when he hit the game winner at the buzzer, 86-84, as they took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The ‘Blur’ finished with 15 points.