San Miguel Beer’s Don Trollano will be honored as Mr. Quality Minutes when the PBA Press Corps holds its 31st Annual Awards Night on October 13 at Novotel Manila.
The 33-year-old guard averaged 9.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.2 assists off the bench in Season 49, helping the Beermen regain the Philippine Cup championship. He becomes the sixth San Miguel player to receive the award, which is equivalent to the league’s Sixth Man of the Year honor. Previous Beermen recipients include Bong Alvarez, the late Boybits Victoria, Chris Calaguio, Terrence Romeo, and Jericho Cruz.
‘This is the result of so many hours of hard work and consistency,’ Trollano said in an earlier interview after San Miguel’s title run.
Also to be recognized during the gala are members of the All-Rookie Team, led by Rookie of the Year RJ Abarrientos of Barangay Ginebra.
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Joining him are fellow rookie standouts Sedrick Barefield (Blackwater), Caelan Tiongson (Rain or Shine), Kai Ballungay (Phoenix), and the pair of Jordan Heading (TNT/Converge) and Justine Baltazar (Converge).
Heading and Baltazar fell short of the 70-percent games-played requirement but were included for their impact on their respective teams.
Baltazar, the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, averaged 12.2 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists for the FiberXers, who nearly reached the semifinals of both the Commissioner’s and Governors’ Cups.
Heading, part of the 2020 rookie class, averaged 15.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.2 rebounds while splitting time with Converge and TNT. He was also a Best Player of the Conference contender and reached his first PBA Finals with the Tropang Giga in the Philippine Cup.
Earlier, Arvin Tolentino (Scoring Champion) and Calvin Oftana (Order of Merit) were also announced as awardees by the Press Corps.