Well-oiled Beermen getting more from second group

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

June Mar Fajardo is satisfied with the way San Miguel is rolling this 2017 PBA Philippine Cup.

Though he is still a rock for the Beermen down low, the Cebuano giant’s burden has been seemingly lessened thanks to the stellar play of his teammates.

“Now, we have balanced scoring. Every one who coach puts in contributes,” said Fajardo in Filipino.

Though San Miguel’s offense no longer runs solely through him, Fajardo remains as dominant as ever, pacing the Best Player of the Conference race with his averages of 19.9 points, a league-best 16.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.7 blocks after leading his squad to the top seed.

But even the 6-foot-10 big man admitted that he didn’t do it alone, with guys like Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Ross all chipping in. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the four join Fajardo in the top 25 of the BPC race.

The reserves are also having a share of the spotlight.

Case in point, RR Garcia caught fire with 25 points to carry San Miguel to a 98-91 quarterfinal win over Rain or Shine.

“It’s good for us because the starting five will be rested and the second group will get more confidence.”
But even with all systems working for San Miguel, Fajardo knows the Beermen can’t be complacent with their semifinals duel against TNT coming up.

“We have to minimize our turnovers because sometimes, we force our passes. There’s no such thing as perfect. We’re bound to make mistakes so all we have to do is to minimize those things.”

San Miguel and TNT begin their best-of-7 semifinals series on Wednesday.