June Mar Fajardo added another Best Player of the Conference award to his collection.
Fajardo, the San Miguel Beer center, received his fourth BPC plum in the last seven conferences on Sunday before Game 4 of the 2016 Philippine Cup Finals between the Beermen and the Alaska Aces tipped off at Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The reigning back-to-back MVP averaged league-highs 26 points, 14.9 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks per game. He bested Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra, NLEX’s Sean Anthony and Asi Taulava and Barako Bull’s Willie Wilson for the citation.
“Siyempre happy ako kasi ako yung nanalo. Another achievement ito para sa akin,” said the 26-year-old Fajardo, who moved a shy of tying his mentor Danny Ildefonso’s record with five BPC awards.
Fajardo showed up in the Finals for the first time, but he will remain sidelined due to the knee injury that kept him from suiting up in the first three games of the championship round.
June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen receives his fourth Best Player of the Conference award before Game 4 of the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup Finals between the Beermen and the Alaska Aces tipped off on Sunday at Philsports Arena in Pasig. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
And with the Beermen on the verge of getting swept, Fajardo couldn’t help but lament not being able to help his team defend the crown.
“Masaya ako pero syempre mas gusto ko makalaro ako sa finals para makatulong ako sa team manalo ng championship (I’m happy but obviously, I want to play in the finals and help my team win the championship). Mas maganda kapag mag-champion kami kasi happy kami lahat (It’s better to win the championship because everyone’s happy),” said Fajardo, who accumulated 1,407 points from statistics, media votes, players votes and the PBA Office.
Slaughter came in distant second with 803 points, Taulava was in third with 496 while Anthony (473) and Wilson (449) were in fourth and fifth, respectively.
The mind is willing, but his aching body wouldn’t let him. And for the 6-foot-10 giant, he just heeded the advice of the San Miguel coaching staff, led by head coach Leo Austria, to take a wait-and-see approach regarding his injury and look at the bigger picture.
“Iniisip ko talaga makalaro sa championship (I really thought of playing in the championship). Sinasabihan ako nila coach na kung hindi ko pa kaya, wag ko na lang pilitin kasi baka lumala pa (Our coaches have been telling me not to force myself to play if I can’t to avoid aggravating it). Pinaliwanag nila yung mga scenario (They explained the scenarios),” he said, while also touching on his chances of playing with the national team for the Olympic qualifiers in July.
Fajardo may be out, but he remains proud of the way San Miguel has fought in the Finals series, with all three games being decided in the endgame.
“Proud ako sa mga teammates ko na lumalaban sila at pinipilit manalo hanggang sa dulo (I’m proud of my teammates for fighting and wanting to win until the end). Kaya naman nilang manalo pero nagkakataon lang na di talaga para sa amin yung mga laro (They can win without me but it just so happen that the game wasn’t really for us),” he said.
And this award, together with the pain of watching his teammates continue to fight without him, just drives Fajardo to strive for more.
“Siyempre gusto ko bumawi (Of course, I really want to bounce back). Gusto ko makalaro ulit sa finals dahil pinaghandaan namin ng team ito ng husto (I want to play in the finals because we really prepared hard for this),” Fajardo said. “Parang additional motivation para sa akin ito na mas magtrabaho para makaabot ulit sa finals (This serves as an additional motivation for myself to work harder and make the finals again). Sana makalaro na ako that time (I hope I’d be able to play by that time).”