There was anxiety in the San Miguel Beermen side late in Game One of their Philippine Cup semifinal series with the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters on Saturday night, when June Mar Fajardo got his sixth foul that booted him out of the match.
Fajardo had already struggled all night long since he was the target of Phoenix’s defense. He left with 3:49 left to play after being whistled for a loose ball foul on opposing center – and former Beerman – Doug Kramer in a battle for the ball.
“Nakaka-frustrate,” admitted Fajardo, who exited with nine points and nine boards.
But luckily for him and the Beermen, they were already ahead by 10 points when his night ended. They would protect the lead, preventing Phoenix from climbing back after the latter knocked within seven after being down by 24.
The Beermen won, 100-88, to take an early lead in their best-of-seven series.
“Pero lamang kami, panalo kami. Yun ang importante. Move on na kami, ang importante nanalo kami,” Fajardo said. “Siyempre playoffs na, expected na hindi easy.
“Hindi naman easy talaga. Kailangan lang maging matatag.”
But beyond racking up the win, Fajardo felt relief that he didn’t suffer any serious injury.
The crowd inside SM Mall of Asia Arena went silent when the 6-foot-10 center fell face-down. He slammed on the floor after some contact with Calvin Abueva on his way down from a lay-up.
“Masakit, masakit. Tsaka masakit nung bumagsak. Pero okay naman, pahinga kami bukas,” said Fajardo, who hurt his knee in San Miguel’s quarterfinal series with long-time rivals TNT KaTropa that ended just three nights ago.
“Okay naman, good thing hindi naman seryoso.”
The reigning five-time league Most Valuable Player even made light of the incident, even if it looked frightening. Fajardo had stayed for a few minutes lying down, making his fellow Beermen run towards him to check his condition.
“Masakit nga eh. Naawa ako sa sahig.”
