GARY David or Arwind Santos?

The battle between the league’s scoring champion and the player with the second most number of double-doubles comes to a pulsating finish tonight when the Best Player of the Conference is announced prior to the start of Game Four between Talk ‘N Text and Powerade.

Santos, Petron’s utility man who narrowly missed winning the MVP last season to Jimmy Alapag, leads the way in statistical points with a 33.65 average. He’s the leading rebounder at 11.8 per game and registered 16 double-doubles in the conference cut short when the Boosters lost what looked like an insurmountable 3-1 series lead against the Tropang Texters in the semi-finals.

David is close behind in the SPs race with a 33.65 norm. Once more, he has paced everyone in scoring, averaging 24.6 points through the end of the semi-finals. He scored six straight 30-point games in the playoffs.

Three more players – Marcio Lassiter of Powerade, B-Meg’s James Yap, and Alex Cabagnot of Petron – are the other candidates. They, however, aren’t expected to figure in the fight.

If chosen, Santos is on the verge of becoming the first player since Erik Menk of Ginebra to win the BPC for the second straight conference. Menk won the BPC in the Philippine Cup and in the Fiesta Conference of the 2004-05 season.

David, on the other hand, has never won an honour of this magnitude.

But that could all end tonight, having been remembered this conference as the hottest, deadliest player who carried the Tigers into the championships after merely ending up as an eight-seeded team at the end of the 14-game eliminations.

The BPC winner will be based on statistical points, which comprise 40 percent of the total package. Media votes own 30 percent, while the players have 25. The remaining five percent is allotted to the PBA Commissioner, Chito Salud.