Fajardo won’t need surgery, says coach

AN INJURY to Petron’s June Mar Fajardo delayed his first PBA showdown with Ginebra rookie Greg Slaughter. PBA IMAGE AUGUST DELA CRUZ

A highly anticipated clash of young giants was cut short by an injury. But at least, that injury wasn’t as devastating as initially suspected.

Petron Blaze center June Mar Fajardo won’t be needing any surgery on his knee after hurting it during practice Monday, Boosters coach Gee Abanilla said yesterday.

The second-year star Fajardo had been ruled out of the Boosters’ PLDT MYDSL Philippine Cup eliminations clash with Barangay Ginebra at Mall of Asia Arena today due to a right knee injury but fears of possibly sustaining a season-ending injury were quickly erased.

“June Mar (Fajardo) is not playing tomorrow but luckily his ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) is intact according to doctors,” Petron head coach Gee Abanilla told Inquirer.net on the match that starts at 8 p.m.

The Christmas Day clash today between the conference co-leaders was the most highly anticipated match of the young season because it would pit Fajardo and Greg Slaughter in an official game for the first time since the two behemoths pillaged the post in the Cebu varsity league.

But Fajardo tweaked his knee after landing on a teammate’s foot Monday, raising fears he may have damaged his ACL, an injury that could take as long as a year to heal.

“At least no surgery needed as I was informed,” he said.

“We are hoping for the best for June Mar and I know that God will always be there to guide him and our team.”

The 6-foot-10 Fajardo has emerged as one of the league’s best players and without him, the Boosters will be missing a vital piece on both ends of the floor.

“We just have to be resilient and weather the storm,” Abanilla added.

Greg Slaughter

The Boosters had been playing shorthanded since the start of the 2014 Philippine Cup with injuries to key stringers Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross and Chris Lutz before getting them back over the course of the conference.

But this injury will be heightened because of Ginebra’s vaunted twin towers: the 7-foot Slaughter and the 6-foot-9 athletic beanpole Japeth Aguilar.

Meanwhile, the Air21-Globalport game slated at 5:45 p.m. will be a footnote of the main game as the Batang Pier try to put the Express closer to elimination.