In seven games that June Mar Fajardo played with San Miguel Beermen in the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup, his average playing time was 30.5 minutes. But on Saturday against Alaska, the top slotman only played half of his norm.
And the reason behind his limited playing time is flu.
“Kasi mainit tapos biglang uulan. Kailangan talaga mag-ingat,” rued the 27-year-old Cebuano regarding his health woe.
But his limited action hardly affected the Beermen at all, as they mauled the slumping Aces, 109-97, to move closer to a top two finish for the conference playoffs. Furthermore, SMB sent Alaska to their sixth straight defeat.
“Maganda naman nilaro ng iba. Nag-step up naman lahat eh,” lauded Fajardo, who chipped in five points and six boards in the 15:58 minutes he logged in, of his teammates’ collective effort.
As the Beermen head into their last two assignments in the eliminations this coming week, Fajardo, who is now averaging 12.5 points and 7.9 caroms, hopes that he will be at a hundred percent in time for those games.
“Sana makabalik na ako next week, kasi mahirap talaga ‘pag nagkasakit — parang nilalanta ka tapos iba yung bigat ng katawan mo. Sina-sinus pa nga ako eh. Pero okay lang, pahinga naman kami bukas,” Fajardo hoped.