Fajardo shrugs off SMB’s first loss

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With Ginebra’s Jervy Cruz and Raymond Aguilar stepping up, June Mar Fajardo admitted that the unheralded bruisers’ performance against San Miguel on Sunday was further proof of how strong the Gin Kings are.

“We know how good they are. They’re a championship-contender team and they made good adjustments in the second half,” Fajardo said in Filipino.

Sans lead big man Greg Slaughter, Cruz and Aguilar combined for 33 points and nine rebounds in the Gin Kings’ 100-96 victory over the Beermen.

Fajardo tried his best to keep San Miguel afloat but failed to rescue the Beermen despite his mammoth stat line of 33 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and four steals.

But rather than feel down with the loss, the reigning four-time PBA MVP sees the first defeat of the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup as a reality check of sorts.

“It happens. We can’t win all of our games. So we have to move on and learn from our lapses,” he said as he rued the Beermen’s 18 turnovers in the matchup.

San Miguel still sits atop the standings at 5-1, but the Cebuano giant knows that his squad can’t be complacent as it seeks to bounce back on Sunday against red-hot Magnolia.

”It’s a good thing that it happened to us midway through the conference, so we still have time to adjust. But we need to move on and win our remaining games,” he said.