Just to be included in the discussion of PBA’s greatest of all time is more than enough for June Mar Fajardo — even if he has a case so strong to be the one.
The San Miguel star still refuses to be called as much even after doubling the previous record for most Most Valuable Player titles won when he earned the highest individual honor for Season 48 in the annual Leo Awards on Sunday.
“Siyempre, masaya na ako na mapabilang doon. Pero sa tingin ko, malayo pa ako roon,” he said shortly after the rites at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo took home MVP no. 8 after another impressive run with the Beermen last season, which saw him lead the club back on top of the Commissioner’s Cup before winning his record 10th BPC plum in the Philippine Cup.
It’s also worth noting that it is his second in a row since coming back from a major leg injury he sustained prior to the shortened 2020 season.
By winning his eighth, not only did he extend his personal record but he now has twice the MVP awards won by Mon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio — an achievement that will surely be difficult to match for many years to come.
But ever humble, the Cebuano center never saw himself above those cage luminaries, which in his book are the “barometers” of PBA MVPs.
“Sina Papa Mon naman at Sir Alvin, sila ‘yung barometer talaga sa MVP,” said the 34-year-old, himself a Fernandez mentee.
“Respect sa kanila, kasi sila ‘yung nag-set ng standard sa PBA. Kami, nakasunod lang sa yapak nila.”
And just like what he said after winning his fifth in 2019, a measure to be called the GOAT is the number of championships won.
“Sobrang daming deserving na tawaging GOAT ng PBA. Si Papa Mon lang, dami niyang championships. Nineteen championships ata. Ako, naka-ilan pa lang ako? Ten pa lang ata ako,” he said. “So, sobrang layo ko pa sa kanya.
“‘Yun ‘yung para sa akin: ‘pag marami kang championship, doon ka matatawag na GOAT. Para sa akin ah. Sobrang daming deserving na tawaging GOAT. Masaya na ako mapabilang doon, mabanggit ‘yung pangalan ko,” he added.
Will he finally call himself the PBA’s GOAT should he surpass the 19 — a league record to this day — of “El Presidente,” Fajardo was asked.
“Ang daming championships pa nun, dami ko pang hahabulin nun eh,” the 10-time champ said, smiling.
“Pero masaya ako sa naging achievements ko.”
