Still standing tall
Despite losing to the TNT Katropa 87-85 in Game 2 of their best-of-seven semifinal series, June Mar Fajardo and the San Miguel Beermen still remain undaunted.
“Nagmintis lang kami at may minor lapses lang,” remarked Fajardo moments after the loss, which halted their 11-game winning streak that dated back from the eliminations.
“Same lang naman ang nilaro namin. Yung mga tira namin sa labas, nagmintis lang. Maganda naman ang dinepensa namin.”
It was a bad shooting night for SMB, converting just 32 of their 85 attempts from the floor for a 37 percent clip. Moreover, the team’s snipers struggled to find their range, going just 7-of-26 from rainbow country.
Fajardo was the sole bright spot for the team, continuing his dominant run with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and seven blocks.
“Ganun talaga. Malakas din yung kabilang team, mga beterano yun na alam manalo sa semifinals. Di mo naman maswee-sweep yun eh,” lamented the Cebuano center.
“Expected naman yun na di ganun kadali yung series na ‘to.”
The Best Player of the Conference front-runner calls for better execution from San Miguel come the next game, pointing out that they should play their own style and not be engaged in the way TNT sets the pace.
“Execution lang ng plays. Hindi kami pwede makipagsabayan sa takbuhan nila. More on set plays kami,” the 27-year-old added.
In TNT’s victory, the Katropa utilized their run-and-gun schemes once more, which proved to be the team’s bread and butter ever since. As a result, TNT converted 16 fastbreak points, a minute chunk of their 40 percent shooting clip.
But still, the three-time MVP remains upbeat about the Beermen’s chances of bouncing back and coming out victorious once more.
“Confident ako. Tiwala ako sa teammates ko at sa sistema ni coach. ‘Di ganoon kadali pero posible naman,” said Fajardo.
