A wild and wooly race for the Best Player of the Conference honors in the KFC-Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup looms.

Five players, led by Talk N Text’s Macmac Cardona and Sta. Lucia’s Kelly Williams, are closely bunched together on top of the statistical derby after the double-round elimination phase of the All-Filipino tourney.

Cardona, Williams, Coca-Cola’s Asi Taulava, Alaska’s Willie Miller and Talk N Text’s Ranidel de Ocampo are in the Top 5, running neck and neck entering the playoff phase.

Ginebra’s Jayjay Helterbrand, San Miguel’s Jay Washington, Purefoods’ Kerby Raymundo, Rain or Shine’s JayR Reyes and Purefoods’ James Yap comprise the next five, not far behind the frontrunners.

Cardona, the former La Salle standout, who has emerged as Talk N Text’s main man in his fourth season with the team, is the league’s scoring leader with 23.8 points a game and leads the stats race, averaging 33.4 SPs (statistical points) per outing.

The prolific slasher, the top player in the 2006-’07 Fiesta Conference, amassed a league-leading total of 602 SPs while also putting in 4.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals a game.

Three former Most Valuable Player winners in Williams, Taulava and Miller are breathing down Cardona’s neck with Williams averaging 33.2 SPs. Taulava has 32.5 and Miller totes 32.0.

De Ocampo, the former Air21 ace power forward, who has just moved over to Talk N Text, rounds out the Magic Five with an average of 31.4 SPs.

The top five at the end of the semifinal round will contend for the BPC award in a balloting among the four-member special committee, the media and the players. The winner will be named before Game 4 of the best-of-seven finals.