Fajardo sparks Beermen’s crucial strong start

Reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo knew it was vital for San Miguel to establish itself as early as possible against Ginebra in Game 4 of its semifinal series against Ginebra in the PBA Philippine Cup.

So when the Beermen were caught in an early slump in the first quarter, he had to take action.

Ginebra took an early 12-7 lead in the first quarter and that five-point margin awakened the monster inside Fajardo.

Fajardo scored 10 first quarter points, all of which happened in San Miguel’s 25-10 run to close out the first, a scoring sprint that eventually became the foundation for the Beermen’s 102-81 victory.

“We needed to win this game, so we really went at Ginebra as hard as we can,” said Fajardo in Filipino Thursday at Mall of Asia Arena. “It would be hard for us if Ginebra ties the series because their confidence will just get higher.”

“Good thing we had a good start, because if we had a slow start we could’ve had a long night.”

San Miguel then kept the pressure in the third period with Von Pessumal’s triple capping off the Beermen’s 26-12 run that put the Beermen up 84-55 with 1:49 left in the period.

Fajardo, who was averaging 23.43 points and 13.29 rebounds, finished with a modest 14-point, 13-rebound line as he allowed his teammates to do the scoring for the Beermen.

Fajardo said he doesn’t care if he had a low-scoring game and would instead give importance to helping his teammates get off their shots.

“I really don’t mind if I don’t score that much, I would rather have my team score in balanced way because my teammates will have the confidence,” said Fajardo, who saw four of his teammates score in double figures.

Marcio Lassiter torched Ginebra for 23 points while Alex Cabagnot had 19 points.

Arwind Santos also finished with a double-double for San Miguel with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Matt Ganuelas-Rosser and Chris Ross added 12 and 11 points, respectively.