Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Tiebreaker Times

Basketball

Rare show of emotion from mild-mannered June Mar Fajardo


It was surprising, to say the least, to see June Mar Fajardo react so uncharacteristically.

Known as a mild-mannered individual, Fajardo had been visibly frustrated with an apparent non-call in the second frame of Game Two of their semis clash with the Alaska Aces on Monday, even spiking the ball to the ground hard.

His actions did not go ignored by the referees, and it resulted in a technical foul – a call that has almost never been made against the 28-year-old Fajardo in the six years he has been playing in the league.

“Nanggigil ako. Sorry.

“‘Di ko alam, parang nanggigil lang ako. Kasi gusto rin namin manalo tapos down kami,” recalled an apologetic Fajardo, as he and the Beermen were down big to the Aces, 34-21, prior to that incident.

Luckily for Fajardo, his frustrations did not extend for the whole night. The Beermen were able to climb back from the  deep deficit and disappointed the Milkmen anew, 105-94, to inch nearer to the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup Finals.

2018-pba-commissioners-cup-semis-g2-san-miguel-def-alaska-june-mar-fajardo Rare show of emotion from mild-mannered June Mar Fajardo Basketball News PBA  - philippine sports news

The six-year veteran was, as usual, pivotal to San Miguel’s resistance, and he finished the night with 21 points on an excellent 8-of-13 shooting from the field along with a game-high 18 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block.

This is now the second straight game where the Beermen broke the Aces’ hearts. Back in Game One last Saturday, Alaska had been able to climb back from 19 down to nine, but SMB did not let up and walked away with a 92-79 win.

#ReadMore  Jaja Santiago looking to ease load off Sara Klisura when Foton battles F2 Logistics

Many now expect a sweep on Wednesday following Monday night’s win. But Fajardo doesn’t want the Beermen to get ahead of themselves, since they know how dangerous the Aces can be, especially now that their backs are against the wall.

“Walang madali kasi playoffs na,” said the reigning, four-time league Most Valuable Player. “Kailangan namin maging ready para sa Game Three. ‘Di namin afford na mag-relax.

“Kailangan na namin tapusin, kung maaari.”

Written By

Oftentimes on the sidelines. Forever a student of the game. Morayta-bred.


You May Also Like

Basketball

San Miguel and Meralco will take center stage when the Philippine Basketball Association celebrates its 50th founding anniversary on April 9. Commissioner Willie Marcial...

Basketball

Gilas Pilipinas Men’s worst stretch under head coach Tim Cone continued on Sunday as the Philippines suffered a lopsided 87-70 defeat against New Zealand...

Basketball

Sticking with the same 12-man roster, Gilas Pilipinas is preparing to wrap up the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers with an all-important clash against New...

Basketball

Troy Rosario’s return to Gilas Pilipinas will have to wait. The veteran internationalist was the tough cut the coaches had to make in finalizing...

Basketball

Gilas Pilipinas pulled the rug underneath Qatar, 74-71, for a triumphant start in its 2nd Doha International Cup campaign Saturday morning (Manila time). Plenty...

Basketball

Meralco’s hopes of advancing to the East Asia Super League (EASL) Final Four were shattered on Wednesday evening, as the Bolts suffered a heartbreaking...

Basketball

It was a tad ironic that one of San Miguel’s former coaches played a part in the traditional powerhouse’s demise in the PBA Season...

Basketball

ANTIPOLO – TNT pushed San Miguel in danger of missing the playoffs of the conference where it has a title to defend following a...

Advertisement