Sixth Most Valuable Player in a row and a fifth consecutive Philippine Cup title for San Miguel Beer along the way.
June Mar Fajardo has set his sights on these twin achievements in Season 44 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), which got under way on Sunday at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
And only a few doubt the 6-foot-10 SMB behemoth from Cebu would miss his lofty targets after claiming a record fifth MVP trophy as the top Season 43 achiever during the Leo Awards that ushered in the 2019 Philippine Cup which the Beermen have dominated since 2015.
“Sana may kasunod pa ito (I hope this is not my last),” said the 29-year-old Fajardo while flaunting the trophy that broke his three-way tie for most MVP awards with Ramon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio.
After thanking his family and college coaches, Fajardo then paid special tribute to his teammates.
He said he was lucky to have played with good teammates, three of whom were also honored during the Leo Awards.
Marcio Lassiter joined Fajardo in the Mythical First Five, Arwind Santos made it to the Mythical Second Five and Chris Ross joined the All-Defensive team.
And Fajardo’s luck continued to hold, it seems, with the Beermen, already noted for their crack all-Filipino lineup, now reinforced with talented big man Christian Standhardinger and guard Terrence Romeo. The veteran Ronald Tubid also found his way back on the SMB roster along with Paul Zamar, who played in the previous Asean Basketball League season for the Thailand Mono Vampire.
The Beermen open their Philippine Cup campaign this Friday against lowly Columbian Dyip before testing the title credentials of Barangay Ginebra on Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings got going with a 90-79 win over the TNT KaTropa in the lone inaugural match on Sunday where Ginebra blew hot and cold with Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter leaving much to be desired while playing together.