June Mar Fajardo honored to be in PBA ‘GOAT’ convo but won’t say he’s greatest
June Mar Fajardo hoists his record fifth PBA MVP award. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—June Mar Fajardo took just seven seasons to become the most decorated individual in the PBA after he won an unprecedented fifth straight MVP plum on top of his seven Best Player of the Conference awards.
San Miguel’s jolly giant also has six championships under his belt and despite all the hardware he’s received he has never thought of placing himself on the pedestal.
Fajardo said that even though he has the most MVP and BPC trophies in league history he is nowhere near the “legends” Ramon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio.
Before Fajardo became the No.1 in the MVP list, he shared the top spot with Fernandez and Patrimonio with four.
“For me, the MVP is not the basis if you’re the best player ever,” said Fajardo after the Leo Awards in the PBA’s opening ceremonies Sunday at Philippine Arena. “The gauge, for me, is how much you’ve contributed to the league.”
“There were people who played before me, there are legends who’ve played earlier, and those guys are the GOATs (greatest of all time). They’re the greatest and they’ve achieved more than I did in terms of championships.”
In terms of championships, Fajardo is nowhere near Fernandez with “El Presidente” owning 19 titles and that mark is more than all the other PBA clubs have achieved with the exception of San Miguel, which has 25.
Fajardo, however, has eclipsed Patrimonio’s mark of five.
As for notoriety, however, Fajardo still has some work to do with Fernandez essentially the league’s foundation from the 1970s to the 1980s while Patrimonio took the PBA to new heights with his combination of skills, charisma and movie star looks in the 1990s.
Fernandez and Patrimonio were also teammates in 1988 with the latter first serving as a playing-coach before returning as a player in the Open Conference and relinquishing the head coaching chair to assistant Cris Calilan.
Fajardo added he can’t call himself the greatest player in PBA history since he didn’t compete against Patrimonio and Fernandez.
“I did not even play against them and I probably wouldn’t have even played well against them,” said Fajardo. “For me, I’m nowhere near those guys. But of course I’m honored that I’m in the same conversation as them but I wouldn’t call myself the greatest.”
