It couldn’t get any more poetic than Ramon Fernandez awarding the PBA Finals MVP trophy — named after him — to one of his former students.
‘El Presidente’ personally handed the golden hardware to June Mar Fajardo after the latter was hailed as the Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals’ best player for powering San Miguel to a successful title defense at the expense of TNT.
It was a sight to behold at the Mall of Asia Arena center court. Two of the league’s greatest shared a moment that added another colorful chapter to a bond that goes way back to the time the Cebuano star was still starting out.
“Isang karangalan na makakuha ng championship, tapos Finals MVP, si Don Ramon pa ‘yung nagbigay ng Finals MVP, nag-abot,” expressed Fajardo moments after their 92-77 Game 6 victory to clinch the crown.
Fernandez served as a mentor to Fajardo during his early years at University of Cebu, and they have remained close since, with the latter always giving credit to the PBA Hall of Famer whenever he gets the opportunity.
And the 19-time champion himself has repeatedly expressed how proud he is to see the Pinamungajan native morph into the star he is today, especially as the league’s only nine-time MVP awardee.
Fast forward to Sunday, and the two found themselves basking in glory together as Fajardo became the first recipient of the Ramon Fernandez Trophy, which will be handed by the PBA Press Corps to Finals MVP winners from now on.
Fajardo has also rewritten PBA history in the process, as he has now won his record-setting fifth Finals MVP award. That breaks a tie with James Yap, LA Tenorio, and another former teacher of his, ‘Lakay’ Danny Ildefonso.
That’s why he already knows where to place his latest trophy.
“Sa kanya pa ‘to nakapangalan. Isang karangalan. For sure, nasa itaas ng trophy case ko,” he said, smiling.
