It was expected that San Miguel Beermen would be sluggish in their opener against Meralco Bolts on Sunday night after almost a month of break, but it went otherwise.
Just ask June Mar Fajardo.
The 6’11” center was being defended by the Bolts’ wide-bodied, 6’10” import Alex Stepheson, and the Cebuano center lamented that it had been hard to keep up with his opponent on the low-block.
“Syempre mahirap. Ang laki, ang bigat,” admitted Fajardo.
Fajardo may have rued that he had a tough time playing against Stepheson, but his numbers spoke otherwise. He finished with 24 markers on 11-of-16 shooting, along with 12 boards.
As he posted his usual double-double output, the Beermen served as the streak-busters, ending the Bolts’ four-game winning streak with a come-from-behind 99-92 opening victory.
And for Fajardo, he deflected the credit to his teammates, who pulled all the necessary stops and nailed all the baskets that completed their climb from 14 points down in the first half.
“Credit talaga sa teammates ko. Grabe yung pinakita nila, lalo na sa import namin, ‘di siya naghahanap ng score,” said Fajardo, also lauding Charles Rhodes’ effort of 22 and 12.
Now that San Miguel has kicked off their 2017 Commissioner’s Cup on a high note, Fajardo and his fellow Beermen hope to stick together as they plan to dominate the import-laden conference.
“Sa amin lang, maglaro kami as a team, sundin ang game plan ni coach at tiwala sa isa’t-isa,” Fajardo declared.
