The Kraken’s presence was not felt Sunday night.
The San Miguel Beermen edged Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Sunday night, 72-70, but one of the Beermen’s top contributors played with a subpar performance, by his standards, during the highly-touted affair.
Ace center June Mar Fajardo, who was averaging 20.9 points a game prior to Sunday’s game, was just able to produce a lowly output of nine markers on just six attempts.. He made up for it with 11 boards, still five rebounds shy of his norms.
Though a decent outing for some, Fajardo’s numbers is far from those and it was all because of Ginebra’s tough coverage on him all through out the 29 minutes he was on the floor.
For Fajardo’s part, him being ganged up by Ginebra’s stifling defense was already expected by him.
“In-expect ko rin. Last game nga, yung games namin sa semifinals, ganun din yung depensa nila sa akin. Nagpo-provide agad sila ng double sa akin,” recalled Fajardo.
In Game 5 of the Ginebra-San Miguel series last Governor’s Cup, the three-time MVP was limited to just seven points, a woeful one-point outing during the first half.
Despite the below-average figures he put out, the six-foot-nine behemoth, who is averaging 15.9 boards a game, is satisfied with the result, as the final buzzer sounded with the Beermen on the triumphant end.
With the win — their sixth straight, Fajardo is hoping that him and San Miguel can sustain the momentum as they tread on their last four games of the eliminations.
“Malaking bagay ito sa amin. Kailangan namin yung winning habit, gawing lifestyle,” the 27-year-old wished.
Aside from his desire, Fajardo also hopes that the entire roster will all be injury-free and stick as a single unit in order for them to get to where they want to be.
“Dapat healthy kami lahat. Sana walang ma-injury sa amin, at sundin lang ang sistema ni coach,” said Fajardo.
And with the season still a long way to go for the Beermen, the Kraken can re-instill the fear he brings upon the competition.
