Rookie of the Year: Is it still a 3-way race?

Chris Lutz: Crazy, quiet efficient for Petron

Now that we're on to the Semifinals of the PBA's Philippine Cup, the Rookie of the Year is almost at 1/3 of its completion with highly-favored names starting to breakaway from what is a truly deep PBA 2011 Draft.

We're leaving out two other popular Rookies namely: Mark Barroca and Marcio Lassiter and with good reason. Barroca is still feeling his way into Coach Tim's system in B-Meg (though he has shown flashes of Flying B greatness) while Lassiter has been consistent but not as impressive as others (perfectly filling in his Scottie Pippen to Gary David's Michael Jordan role). Or, to be a little more direct, RoYs and MVPs aren't (usually) awarded to great 2s/ second options. It always goes to the guy who has the ball and calls the shots in the clutch.

Chris Lutz - Petron Blaze Boosters
Had you told me that Lutz would turn out to be a better player than Marcio Lassiter during SMART Gilas' mighty and impressive campaign earlier this year, I'd have shook my head and dismissed you as simply marking out over Lutz' quiet/ steady potential. Well, not anymore. If anyone were to care enough to truly breakdown Lutz' game, he'd be in the Top 5 in Player Efficiency in a heart beat. He's already proven himself as a 20 point scorer in the PBA and ranks as one of the steals and Free Throws leaders. The only thing going against Lutz is, while being so crazy efficient, he's playing for a powerhouse Petron Blaze Boosters fold that can win two or three titles without him on the roster. Is he merely benefiting from all the openings created by superstar teammates Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot (who have earned the right to command double teams nowadays)? Say what you want, but there's still a difference between being given opportunities and actually taking it-- and take it, Lutz has.

Paul Lee - Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
While Lutz' off-the-ball efficiency on the floor masks his all around, borderline superstar traits, Lee is the exact opposite. Brimming with a quiet air of self-confidence and assurance, Lee plays the game that Alpha Dogs do- always in control of the situation and never a fan of the theatrics. If his shots aren't falling, Lee's bound to drive into the paint and use his body against smaller PGs to create contact + and 1s (instead of Meralco's Sol Mercado's kamikazee moves to the basket where he just flips and flails, devil-may-care style). When he's not calling his own number, he drives and kicks to whoever's open-- be it at the three point line (usually to a waiting Jeffrei Chan) or the weak side of the post (Beau Belga/ JayR Quinahan). He's had games wherein he wasn't posting the star-type numbers expected by fans, but that doesn't deter him from making big plays down the stretch (win, lose or draw). His defense though, remains iffy-- the added weight is preventing him from keeping in step with the league's quicker guards.

Jayvee Casio - Powerade Tigers
After sitting out his team's earlier games, Casio is back in the line-up and seems to have found his groove under head coach Bo Perasol's system. One game he's scoring in the 20s and dishing out 10 assists, the next, Rudy Lingganay and Celino Cruz are eating away at his playing time and he's trading stories with the ball boys, moping at the end of the Tigers' bench. Is Casio a legit future PBA star? Or are his numbers simply being generated because of the touches he gets (being the PG and all)? Also, it's never a good sign for rookies to miss their first couple of games with leg/ knee issues. This writer is still holding out hope for Casio, who is well on his way to Tenorio-hood/ Magsanoc-hood.

If the RoY awarding were to be held tonight, Lutz would be the undisputed winner based on his impressive stats alone. But if you went with the "can his team still win- BIG without him?" then you'd be hard-pressed not to pick the savvy Paul Lee.