June Mar Fajardo accepts BPC award along with teammates. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
June Mar Fajardo continues to etch his legend among the league’s greats.
The ever-humble Cebuano giant rewrote the history books anew, winning his fifth Best Player of the Conference award on Friday.
The honor allowed Fajardo to tie the record set by Beermen great Danny Ildefonso, who also won five BPC awards in his 17-year career.
The 6-foot-10 big ma can’t help but be overwhelmed with the distinction he now shares with his mentor.
“Of course, I feel proud because I don’t expect that I can match him. I just feel really happy,” said Fajardo in Filipino.
Averaging 19.4 points, 15.2 rebounds, 2.4 blocks, 1.5 assists, Fajardo has once again stamped his class among the locals, winning his fourth BPC plum in an all-Filipino conference.
And after helping San Miguel reach the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, it’s all but a lock that the three-time PBA Most Valuable Player adds another hardware to his already loaded trophy collection.
Fajardo netted 1217 votes to nab the crown, besting fellow candidates GlobalPort’s Terrence Romeo, Alaska’s Calvin Abueva, and teammates Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos.
However, Fajardo’s goal remains the same: to help give San Miguel its third straight Philippine Cup and claim the Perpetual trophy.
“I’m thankful, but it’s better if all of us are happy so I really want to be a champion again.”
Romeo was at distant second in the BPC race with 711 votes, followed by Cabagnot (556 votes), Santos (381 votes), and Abueva (370 votes).