The Top 5 Centers of the 2016-2017 PBA Philippine Cup

5. Reynel Hugnatan (MER) - Hugnatan is really a power forward masquerading as a center for the Bolts, who have had a revolving door of not-so-successful slotmen these past years. He will probably slide down to the 4 spot with 6'10 Alex Stepheson reinforcing the Bolts in the Commish Cup, but continue to look for Hugnatan to potentially contribute big numbers given his muscle, hustle, and perimeter shooting.

4. Bradwyn Guinto (NLX) - 9.0ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.0apg, 55.6 FG%, 28.6 EFF

- The 6'6 native of Bataan started the season a little slow with his new team, but he picked things up in the Bolts' last five games, averaging 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per outing. This kid has really great potential, and it seems growing his game under the influence of Yeng Guiao possibly makes him a candidate to be the next Beau Belga or JR Quiñahan. That's not bad, of course, considering the latter is the next guy on this list.

3. JR Quiñahan (GLO) - 11.5ppg, 7.8rpg, 2.7apg, 31.0 EFF
- Quiñahan was a nightly double-double threat for the Batang Pier last conference. He gave GlobalPort the inside presence they sorely need, scoring in double-digits in all but 3 of the team's 13 games. The 6'6 Cebuano is having the most productive season of his career so far, and even if the Batang Pier sign a big man for their import, Quiñahan should still figure prominently as a player who can be a really solid back-up center or move down as a wide-bodied stretch 4.

2. Japeth Aguilar (GIN) - 15.5ppg, 9.1rpg, 1.5apg, 1.7bpg, 35.9 EFF
- With Gregzilla out last conference, the onus was on Japeth to be the small-ball center for Ginebra's high-octane offense, and by all intents and purposes, he was able to deliver. The Western Kentucky product manned the middle well and was noticeably more confident than usual. It's clear that Japeth likes being one of the main men and having the ball in his hands often, so it'll be interesting how coach Tim Cone manages this when Greg Slaughter does return to the equation.

1. June Mar Fajardo (SMB) - 18.9ppg, 14.2rpg, 1.7apg, 2.2bpg, 64.9%, 47.2 EFF
- Fajardo, as expected, was a matchup nightmare for most, if not all, teams in the first conference. The only possible rival to his combination of size, strength, and skill was out the entire Philippine Cup, and so it was left to faux centers and undersized bigs to try and contain him. Not surprisingly, this resulted in the Kraken dominating a lion's share of the Beermen's games, eventually leading to his being named Best Player of the Conference — the fifth in his career. He has historically struggled a bit in the Commish Cup, though, so it'll be interesting to see how he copes with imports who are bigger and more athletic than he is.