On a cold and damp Sunday night when he emerged as the pro league’s best player of the conference for a record-extending 12th time, San Miguel Beer star center June Mar Fajardo munched a piece of lumpia—a usual Filipino pastime food that will not cost more than P50.
Wearing a plain white t-shirt, maong pants, and a simple green cap, the 6-foot-10 behemoth, owner of eight MVP plums, could be mistaken as not being one of the PBA’s greatest players.
While his accolades—including this season’s Philippine Cup BPC he lifted before Game 4 of the finals—speak volumes of his legendary career, Fajardo chose to keep his feet firmly on the ground.
“Thankful ako. Thankful ako kay God siyempre blessing na naman ito,” Fajardo said. “Pero hindi ko iniisip iyon. Sabi ko nga sa inyo, kini-keep ko lang iyan dito sa puso ko. Iyong puso ko, parang kaban lang iyan.
“Lahat ng memories nandoon. Pero sa isip ko, never umakyat iyong mga award. Pero thankful ako,” he added.
Fajardo, 35, romped with the award with 1,085 points after topping the statistics with 489, on top of 505 media votes, and 91 nods from fellow players.
Despite playing on one good foot due to a calf injury, Fajardo shone for the Beermen with 16.0 points, a league-best 13.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 blocked shots for 39.6 statistical points.
The Pinamungajan, Cebu native also bagged the season-opening Governors’ Cup BPC.
The Gilas Pilipinas mainstay failed to contend for the top honors in the Commissioner’s Cup after SMB fell short of reaching the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
But the Beermen are looking good to regain their place among Asia’s pioneering pro league’s elite with a 3-1 series lead over the Grand Slam-seeking TNT Tropang 5G.
Amid the downpour brought by the southeast monsoon, SMB went for the clincher when it clashed with TNT at press time last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Game 5.
“Ayaw namin pangunahan kasi marami pang puwedeng mangyayari. Basta kami, gagawin namin iyong best namin,” Fajardo said. “Magpra-practice ulit kami the way nag-practice kami before nag-start iyong finals. Sana makuha na namin.”
Fajardo’s teammate CJ Perez wound up a far second in the BPC race with 704 markers (437 stats, 239 media votes, and 28 players’ votes).
NLEX gunner Robert Bolick finished third with 562 points (453-86-23), followed by Magnolia rising star Zavier Lucero (459 markers), and Jason Perkins of Phoenix (441 points).
“Siyempre, gusto naming matapos iyong game para makapagpahinga kami. Para kasing kapag humaba iyong series, nagkakaroon sila ng momentum,” he said. “Hindi natin alam kung anong mangyayari so kung puwede ipanalo iyong game tonight, try namin ipanalo. Pero iyon nga, hindi iyon easy na game, for sure physical iyon so dapat paghandaan namin.”
Fajardo simply wants to rest—not on his laurels—but his body briefly after a grueling season and shift his focus to the national team’s bid in the FIBA Asia Cup early next month.
