ANTIPOLO — The next 24 hours will be crucial in determining June Mar Fajardo’s status for Game 6 of the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals.
The league’s only nine-time MVP will be under close monitoring after suffering a minor knee injury during San Miguel’s victory over TNT on Friday night, which moved the Beermen to the cusp of defending the crown.
They’ll go for broke this Sunday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, but it remains to be seen if their main man will be available to suit up.
“Sana, makabalik siya,” said head coach Leo Austria after their 96-82 win at the Ynares Center here.
“But let’s see what will happen tonight until tomorrow.”
Fajardo got hurt at the 6:28-mark of the third quarter, right after he pushed their lead to 60-50 following an accidental contact with Rodney Brondial.
Brondial lost balance following a bump from Tropang 5G center Poy Erram from behind, as per broadcast replays. The former coincidentally fell in the way of the Cebuano star, who was visibly in pain as he held on to his left knee.
(C) PBA Images
“‘Di ko alam, parang natulak ako,” recalled Fajardo of the incident, which ended with Erram receiving a technical foul. “Tapos bumagsak ‘yung tuhod ko.”
Fajardo would stay on the bench for a while but was inserted back in by the coaches with 6:13 remaining in the game, and went on to finish the game.
He even helped San Miguel apply the final touches, and eventually finished with yet another double-double outing with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
“Gusto rin i-try ng PT para matingnan kung kaya ko maglaro,” said the 36-year-old, who played for a total of 29 points and 48 seconds in Game 5.
As far as he’s concerned, Fajardo believes that he’s still healthy enough to play in the all-important Game 6, where they will try to finish off their foes.
All he’s really hoping for is that his injured knee does not swell at all heading into the potential title-clincher, set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
“Ia-assess pa ‘ko bukas. Titingnan. Pero nakainom naman ako ng painkiller, ng anti-inflammatory. Hopefully, hindi mamaga,” the 6-foot-10 slotman from Cebu said.
“Sa tingin ko kaya naman, pahinga lang siguro. Therapy lang ako.”
#WATCH: SHOUTOUT KAY RODNEY AT KRIS ROSALES 🏀
June Mar Fajardo was glad to see his teammates step up for him in Game 5 of the #PBA50 Finals#ReadMore 👉 https://t.co/Sws8BlFc8z
📹@justinebacnis/ Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/vZ7TsNHXiB
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) January 30, 2026
