SMB's Washington leads player of the conference race

San Miguel Beer's Jay Washington is on track to become the first player to win back-to-back PBA Player of the Conference awards in a decade, as the hotshot forward leads the heated race for the title going to the Philippine Cup Finals. The 6-foot-7 Washington averaged 33.30 statistical points (SPs) by the end of the semifinals to top the list that also includes San Miguel teammate Arwind Santos, the Talk 'N Text duo of Harvey Carey and Ali Peek, and Alaska's Joe Devance. Washington emerged as the Best Player of the Conference (BPC) in the last Fiesta Cup, where the Beermen finished runner-up behind Alaska. San Miguel's big man could become the first to win the BPC honor in successive fashion since fellow Beermen Danny Ildefonso won five in a row during the 2000 and 2001 seasons. Santos' inconsistency in the semifinals obviously affected his standings. From No. 1 after the quarterfinals, the lanky forward out of Far Eastern University slid to No. 2 behind Washington (32.52 SPs). Carey is at third place with 30.33 SPs, while Peek has 29.52. Devance placed fifth with 34.24 at the end of the quarterfinals, but lost his chance of winning the coveted individual plum after the Aces were eliminated by the Kings in the season-opening tournament. The winner of the award will be known before Game 4 of the best-of-seven series between San Miguel and Talk 'N Text at the Araneta Coliseum. Former league MVP Vergel Meneses was the only other player to cop the plum successively, pulling off the feat in three straight conferences: the 1994 Governors Cup, 1995 all-Filipino, and 1995 Commissioner's Cup. - JVP, KY, GMANews.TV