June Mar Fajardo has noticed an unusual trend in the PBA Philippine Cup, with traditionally lower-ranked teams sitting at the top of the standings at this point of elimination.
And Fajardo and Biermann should keep that momentum going after getting off to a dominant start to the biconference season with a 109-97 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo, who injured his calf in the second half of the game against San Miguel, recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds in limited playing time in his first game in a while, telling the Filipino Inquirer, „The game is competitive right now.'' told Ra. -Won the Commissioner's Cup.
The seven-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) injured his right calf in Game 4 of the Commissioner's Cup title series against Magnolia, but missed two games for Gilas Pilipinas during the Asian Cup qualifying period last month. There was also a time when the 6-foot-10-inch center was sidelined. .
Fajardo has also vowed to continue fulfilling his national duties, and will need to return to 100 percent health as the tournament drags on. Gilas is trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics in Latvia in July.
„We don't have to be complacent because the teams that are usually at the bottom are now among the top teams,“ he continued. “We need to get stronger and take practice seriously.”
San Miguel's quest for 30th place in the title got off to a good start, with almost everyone stepping up in the limited playing time given to Fajardo.
After the final, Fajardo missed two games against Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asian Cup qualifiers, playing just 24 minutes as the Beermen take steps toward becoming the frontrunner for this season's MVP. I stayed.
Coach Jorge Garento sees no reason to extend Fajardo's playing time for now, but he needs San Miguel's other big men to step up.
Step up
Mo Tautua started and had seven points, six rebounds and two assists, earning praise from Gallent. Tautua also made a buzzer-beating shot off an NFL-style inbounds pass from Chris Ross, giving the Beermen a 56-45 lead back in the locker room.
If Tautua can play a reliable rotational role and ease the burden on star players like Fajardo, CJ Perez, Jericho Cruz and Marcio Lassiter during San Miguel's quest to achieve a pseudo-Grand Slam, Biermann will become a true entity. But Mr. Fajardo is heeding Mr. Gallento's warnings after planting the first seeds of an all-Filipino quest in San Miguel.
Top rookie injured
„Our goal is to win many championships,“ Fajardo said. „But Coach Jorge reminded us that we have to take it one game at a time.'' Cruz was the Beermen's top scorer with 20 points in another important performance off the bench. Lassiter scored 17 points with five triples and was named Most Valuable Player. . Don Trollano and Terrence Romeo added 16 and 13 points, respectively.
With Rain or Shine now 0-4 and rookie center Keith Datu out with a sprained MCL, the horizon doesn't look bright for the Elasto Painters and coach Yen Gao.
Datu was one of the best-performing rookies of the season, but he was removed from the game before tipoff. INQ