The San Miguel Beermen got the best of the TNT Katropa, Monday evening. And it was largely part due to June Mar Fajardo besting TNT import Joshua Smith in their titanic heads-up battle.
Smith had already accumulated three fouls in the first half alone. With the 6-foot-10, 290-pound import out of the way, the 6-foot-10 Fajardo was able to operate inside.
Fajardo went on to score 10 points in the third frame to rally San Miguel back from a lead that went to as high as 23 points. And it would not stop there, as the four-time Most Valuable Player scored on an and-one play with 5:11 left in the contest to knot things up at 106-all.
It was all San Miguel from there.
“Kasi down kami nung first half eh. Sobrang na-frustrate kami sa loob kaya kailangan namin mag-step up, lalo na sa depensa,” Fajardo shared. “Sa opensa naman, kailangan naming maging agresibo. Nag-step up ang teammates ko, lahat kami nag-step up. “
Adding insult to injury, Smith fouled out of the contest with 3:39 left after trying to box out Fajardo. 1-0 Fajardo with Smith being limited to just 30 minutes of game time to finish with 17 points and eight rebounds.
“Sobrang laki niya, sobrang lapad niya, ang laki ng space na nakukuha niya sa loob,” the 28-year-old, who had 27 points and 13 rebounds in San Miguel’s 110-121 win, remarked about Smith. “Ang galing niya pumwesto, galing niya pumasa, sobrang disiplina siya sa opensa nila, hindi siya nagmamadali. Tinitignan niya. Kung walang help, one on one, kayang kaya niya.
“Respeto sa kanya. Sana next game makuha ulit namin yung panalo.”
But come Wednesday, Fajardo knows that Smith will be ready for him. And Fajardo is bracing for it.
“Nagkataon lang. For sure next game, hindi na mauulit yun.”
