Nothing Hotshots could do to stop June Mar Fajardo’s near-perfect night

MANILA, Philippines—Containing San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo, the most dominant player in the PBA today, is already a handful and covering his all-star teammates is another task altogether.

Magnolia failed on both and it resulted to a 114-98 blowout loss in Game 4 of the 2019 Philippine Cup Finals Wednesday night.

“June Mar dominated the game. He shot a high percentage in the paint and that’s the story of the game,” said Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero in Filipino.

“We need to do a better job on June Mar in the post next game. I think he shot almost 100 percent.”

Fajardo went 13-of-14 from the field en route to 31 points three nights after scoring just 17 points on 4-of-11 shooting in an 86-82 loss in Game 3.

But it wasn’t just Fajardo who clicked. Overall, the Beermen shot 52 percent from the field including 11-of-25 from downtown.

Terrence Romeo had 18 points, Chris Ross scored 15, making six of his eight attempts, while Christian Standhardinger posted a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.

The Hotshots, on the other hand, had trouble scoring especially their main man Paul Lee.

Lee had measly seven points as he missed six of his nine shots.

“I told my players we need to get back to our strength which is defense. It’s likely that we would lose in a high-scoring game like this. We can’t trade baskets with San Miguel,” Victolero said.

“It’s about our defensive mindset. The good thing is the series is tied and Friday’s game is the pivotal game so we have to prepare for that.”