PBA: ‘Healthy’ June Mar Fajardo triumphant in return from injury

San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo plays in the PBA Philippine Cup opener. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel opened its PBA Philippine Cup campaign with some good news.

In the Beermen’s 109-97 win over Rain or Shine at Araneta Coliseum on Friday, June Mar Fajardo saw action after being sidelined for a few weeks.

To make things better for the reigning All-Filipino champions, the seven-time league MVP said he is doing good and not dealing with any pain anymore.

READ: PBA: San Miguel opens Philippine Cup with win over Rain or Shine

“I’m okay so far. My recovery’s great and I got my rest already,” said Fajardo after dropping a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds with two blocks and a steal in the dub.

“I’m healthy now. Maybe I just need to work on my conditioning and we also just got back in practice but so far, the team is running well. There’s no pain now.”

During the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals a few weeks ago, Fajardo suffered a sore calf in Game 4 which put him in pain for the next two games.

READ: SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup

Instead of sitting out the crucial final matches, Fajardo played through the leg problem and helped the Beermen notch the import-laden conference title but it didn’t come without a price.

Fajardo was slated to play for Gilas Pilipinas in the first window of the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers but couldn’t suit up.

So it wasn’t a complete surprise that Fajardo only played for 25 minutes in the Beermen’s conference-opening victory.

Helping San Miguel deal with Fajardo’s limited minutes was Mo Tautuaa, who made the most of his time with seven points, six rebounds and three steals, much to the delight of the former.

“We really need Mo. Mo’s a big thing for us, we need his presence inside and he played well [today]. Hopefully, it continues.”