Artadi surprise leader in race for rookie plum

What you see is what you get. Now guess who among the rookies made the most significant impact in the Gran Matador-PBA Fiesta Conference.

Paul Artadi — that’s who. The cat-quick playmaker of the Purefoods Hotdogs tops all rookies in scoring, assists and steals halfway through the eliminations of the league’s transition tournament.

The Ex-University of the East Warrior norms 8.6 points a game that landed him in a first place tie with teammate and second round pick James Yap, who played in just five games due to back spasms.

Artadi, whose sensational passes and up tempo drives have redefined the point guard position, is also tops in the assists and steals department.

The Hotdogs’ second round pick (11th overall) averaged 5.0 assists per outing, besting top rookie pick Rich Alvarez of Shell (2.6 per game) while norming 2.2 steals a game.

This makes Artadi the only rookie in the top 10 overall in the assists and steals category.

He ranks seventh behind Mike Cortes, Olsen Racela, Jimmy Alapag, Johnny Abbarientos, Galen Young and assist leader Gerald Honeycutt while tied for fifth with Gerald Francisco in steals category ruled by Abarrientos.

Alaska rookie power forward Joachim Thoss also shares the spotlight by dominating the rebounding section.

The 6-7 Thoss, who aspires to make it to the National Basketball Association, averaged 5.7 boards a game to show the way in the rebound category, folowed by Shell’s Alvarez (5.1) and Sta. Lucia’s Nelbert Omolon (3.7).

The Alaska mammoth also displayed proficiency in the free throw line shooting best among the rookies with 81.2 percent.

FedEx big man Marc Pingris beat all rookies in total field goal percentage with 54.5 percent while teamate Ranidel de Ocampo led in the three-point field goal shooting with 37 percent.

Trailing him in both categories are Alvarez and Sta. Lucia’s Nelbert Omolon who averaged 5.1 and 3.7 rebounds including 1.4 and 2.3 offensive boards, respectively.