The June Mar Fajardo puzzle has always left Rain or Shine perplexed, but Coach Yeng Guiao never stopped believing that they would solve it one day.
Thursday night came and that proved to be the moment the Elasto Painters have been waiting for, clipping the eight-time MVP to practically disarm San Miguel and beat them in their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup rematch.
“I think June Mar is really the key, pagka medyo nababaan mo ‘yung efficiency niya,” the champion bench tactician offered during the postgame press conference of their 122-112 victory at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate.
There was no doubt that RoS would double down defensively on Fajardo, most especially after he dealt Guiao and his wards a heartbreaking 113-112 loss back in the first round last September 5 through a buzzer-beating jumper.
That shot, furthermore, capped off what was yet another monster performance for him, as he went on to finish with 27 points and 21 rebounds.
But this time, they made sure that no last-second basket would dictate the game’s outcome. They started off hot from deep early before breaking away in the fourth, where they established a lead as big as 15 points, 105-90.
It became possible thanks to their effort on the 6-foot-10 slotman, whom they held to just 14 points and 12 rebounds — numbers below his own standards.
“Masyado kasing mataas ang efficiency ni June Mar. Whenever he catches around the lane, he’s around 70-percent,” Guiao pointed out.
“So, we tried to play the odds,” he added. “If he’s not touching the ball round that area, we try to deny him touches. And even if he’s touching the ball, we want him to touch the ball further away from the basket.”
Guiao gave credit to Aaron Fuller and Beau Belga in making it a long night for Fajardo, who also didn’t have a single free throw in the 37 minutes he played.
It’s worth noting that the two bigs delivered offensively, too, even with that tough assignment, with Fuller finishing with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds. Belga, on the other hand, had a 16-4-5 stat line.
“June Mar is really a handful. Aaron did an excellent job just putting a body on June Mar the whole game; ito rin si Beau. Pinagtulungan nila ang role na ‘yon,” he lauded. “Mabigat si June Mar. Mabigat na trabaho ‘yun.”
“I also made sure that I shortened my rotation for them, kasi mapapagod ka talaga,” he added. “And at least, dalawa sila roon, mag-isa lang si June Mar. We felt that June Mar trying to push two heavy bodies is also gonna tire him out.”
What also made wonders in the victory, which was the franchise’s first after an 11-game losing skid that dates back to 2021, was the sped-up pace.
With San Miguel more used to running half-court sets because of Fajardo’s presence and proficiency in the post, Guiao and Co. tried to run the floor more, which proved key as it led to 37 points off transition. SMB only had 10.
“Then the pace of the game, ako kumpiyansa ako makakatagal kami ng 48 minutes na tumatakbo, kasi that’s really our bread and butter,” he said. “Sila medyo sanay sila na half-court sets, si June Mar hinahanap sa half court.”
“I felt confident na kaya naming i-sustain ‘yung pace ng laro, and San Miguel might not be able to do that because that’s not really their style of play.”
