June Mar Fajardo went Kraken mode in San Miguel’s 108-100 overtime victory over TNT for the 2-1 edge in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven Finals on Friday.
The six-time season MVP unloaded a monstrous game of 27 points on a 10-of-18 clip from the field to go with 27 rebounds in 47 minutes of floor time.
But for the 2012 1st overall pick, it’s all in a day’s work to let the Beermen back on the driver’s seat of the series.
“Kailangan ko lang kunin ‘yung rebounds, ‘yun lang ang trabaho ko eh,” Fajardo said, shrugging off his rare rebounding statline.
“Kailangan ko i-boxout kasi maganda ‘yung depensa ng TNT sa akin eh, nahihirapan ako maka-score, nahihirapan ako makatanggap sa poste.”
And what a big bounce-back game it was for him.
Even though San Miguel won Game Two, Fajardo was limited to just 13 points on just six shot attempts and eight rebounds in over 36 minutes of action.
But again, forever a humble man despite all his accolades in his 10-year PBA career, the soft-spoken center toned down his monster night, especially in the rebounding end.
(C) PBA Images
“Sobrang dami nila, marami silang bigs so marami silang nagba-box out sa akin. Nagkataon lang talaga na ‘yung bola bumabagsak sa malapit sa akin so nakukuha ko, nadadampot ko,” said Fajardo.
“May mga games din naman na ‘yung bola bumabagsak sa malayo so hindi ako nakaka-[rebound].”
Fajardo also has a noticeable long scratch on his right arm.
However, for the 6-foot-10 big that has dominated the league in recent years, physicality has always been a part of the job.
“Okay lang yan. Wala namang namamatay sa kalmot eh. Pisikal yung game, expected yun. Kailangan ko maging composed sa loob, hindi ako nagpapadala, hindi ako nagkocomplain sa referee,” said Fajardo.
“Focus lang talaga sa game. Yung tawag naman ng referee kung tatawagan okay, kung hindi okay lang din. Trabaho nila yun eh. Ako ang trabaho ko maglaro.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
