Isaac Go respects June Mar Fajardo a ton, and the Ginebra big man tries to be at the top of his game when he gets face-to-face with the nine-time PBA MVP.
That was the case on Tuesday night, as the former No. 1 overall pick submitted his best showing of Season 50 to date to help the Kings draw first blood against San Miguel Beer in their Governors’ Cup best-of-5 quarterfinal series.
“It’s always a pleasure, and it’s an honor to play not only in the quarterfinals, but against San Miguel and June Mar,” he offered after their 104-95 Game 1 win.
Go came off the bench and contributed 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor, scoring six in the third quarter to help the Kings begin taking control of the ball game before pulling away for good in the deciding period.
He went 2-of-4 from deep and also collected four rebounds plus a block, leaving the brain trust satisfied with the kind of production that was a tad reminiscent of his days with Terrafirma, specifically during their rare playoff run in 2024.
“Kasi we need size especially playing a team like San Miguel and ang maganda naman kay Isaac, skill-wise hindi naman siya ‘yung pinaka-athletic na player but he uses ‘yung utak niya to play,” said lead deputy Richard del Rosario.
“And that’s a big lift. He followed the game plan to perfection, sinabi na nga ni Coach Tim ‘yun nung first half, and he continued,” the veteran mentor added.
Go actually outscored the ‘Kraken’ on the same night he was recognized formally for entering the league’s exclusive 10,000 points club, which he accomplished during their eventual escape against NLEX in Antipolo.
Fajardo only had three points on 1-of-6 shooting with 10 rebounds and three assists as the Ginebra defense proved effective in limiting his production.
Still, the Ateneo de Manila University alumnus has nothing but profound admiration to whom many consider as the league’s greatest of all time.
“As I said earlier in the interview downstairs, how often do you get a chance to play the GOAT of your league? Just grabbing every opportunity to go up against him because you have to play your best,” said the former Gilas stalwart.
“Sometimes your best may not be enough because he is the GOAT—10,000 points, how many thousand rebounds, the list goes on and on. And really, you’re just going to treasure these moments against him.”
