For San Miguel Corporation sports director Alfrancis Chua, it remains better for the injured June Mar Fajardo to undergo rehab here in Manila than going overseas.
He has good faith in the Filipino doctors attending to the San Miguel Beermen star, who suffered a fractured tibia in practice last February 3 and has been recovering since.
“Magagaling ang mga doktor natin dito,” said the straightforward executive on Tuesday, moments after the league’s press conference for its 45th season at the Conrad Hotel in Pasay.
“Sa States, after an operation, ang therapy doon kanya-kanya. Dito alaga tayo ng mga therapist at doktor. I think mas maganda dito. Iba ‘yung nakatutok eh.”
Fajardo has been ruled out of the 2020 Philippine Cup and possibly the entire season due to his injury, marking the first time in nearly a decade that the Beermen will miss him for such a long span.
The Cebuano center has undeniably been the centerpiece of the star-studded San Miguel crew in the last few years, and the major reason why SMB has won eight championships since 2015.
Fajardo has also been a key figure for Gilas Pilipinas. Just last year, he saw action in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers all the way to the World Cup itself, as well as in the Southeast Asian Games.
Chua shared, “June Mar, ibang klaseng tao. Napakabait, napakagalang. Nung na-injure siya, parang siya pa ang nahihiya na injured siya. Gusto niya makatulong sa national team at sa San Miguel.”
Still, Chua and San Miguel are giving the 6-foot-10 Fajardo all the time in the world to recover from his injury.
“Lahat ng oras na pwedeng ipahinga ni June Mar, ‘pag one-hundred-and-ten-percent na siya, that’s the time he can practice,” he said. “Sabi ko sa kanya, ‘Bata ka pa, magpahinga ka para pagbalik mo, mas malakas ka pa.’
“Sino na-injure na ganyan sa NBA? Si Paul George. Pagbalik, gumaling pa eh. Kaya sabi ko kay June Mar, relax lang siya. Kailangan ng katawan niya na makapagpahinga.”
