On Friday night, June Mar Fajardo was in street clothes and on the sidelines, helplessly witnessing his San Miguel Beermen get pounded by a hot-shooting Donte Greene and the TNT Katropa.
And with the loss — which puts a blemish to their once-immaculate record — it is safe to say that his absence due to Gilas Pilipinas duties has brought immediate, rippling effects.
“Ganun talaga eh. Malakas naman kami. Nagmintis lang yung tira namin sa labas. Yung usual na tinitira namin, ‘di lang pumapasok,” lamented the 6-foot-10 Cebuano moments after the 112-103 defeat at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The three-time MVP’s assessment was accurate.
The Beermen shot just 42 percent — 5.9 notches lower than the 47.9 percent they shot during their five-game streak. Furthermore, they only hit 30 percent beyond the arc — far from the 36.6 percent they made also during their winning stretch.
However, it was not just about the sub-par shooting that sent SMB down. Fajardo’s absence was felt, especially in the rebounding department. Prior to Friday, the Beermen had been averaging 52.2 boards, with 7.8 coming from Fajardo. But against the Katropa, they only plucked down 46 caroms.
“I think nabago din ang setup namin dahil June Mar is not around,” admitted San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.
“But if we have June Mar, nagkakaroon ng mismatch ngayon sa big man sa post. What happened today is nagkaroon ng big man ngayon.
“Usually kami ang may advantage eh; ngayon sila nagkaroon because of sila Kelly [Williams], sila [Mo] Tautuaa. Hindi kami makapag-cancel out ng import to import dahil yung big man nila, mas malakas,” added Austria, who had a hard time containing TNT’s Greene, who put up 41 markers and 21 boards.
Still, even without Fajardo, the 59-year-old mentor remains upbeat about the Beermen’s chances in the Commissioner’s Cup, even recalling the times when the Kraken was also out due to injuries, with the most recent back in 2016 due to a knee injury.
“Even though wala si June Mar, kaya naman manalo ng team eh dahil nangyari na sa amin ito before eh,” recalled Austria.
“I’m sure next time, we’ll recover.”
“Kaya naman makabawi,” Fajardo declared.
