TAIPEI – Gilas Pilipinas coach Chot Reyes heaped praise on June Mar Fajardo on Thursday night, saying the gentle giant's unselfish attitude was exactly the team is all about.
“June Mar has every right to demand to start but for him, it doesn’t matter,” Reyes said after the four-time PBA MVP came off the bench to score 22 points on 9-of-11 shooting in Gilas' 93-71 win over Chinese Taipei.
“He comes in, he does his job whether that means starting or coming off the bench," Reyes added. “That’s the culture that we have in this team. It doesn’t matter how many minutes you get. What only matters is how well and how hard you play.”
Fajardo's offense, Reyes said, left Chinese Taipei in a quandary since the hosts also had to worry about Gilas naturalized player Andray Blatche.
“With June Mar and Andray, Chinese Taipei had to pick its poison. They are either focused on June Mar or they are focused on Andray. When they put their best defender on Andray, it frees up June Mar and do his work underneath."
Reyes said Fajardo’s breakout game also freed up Gilas' perimeter gunners who hit eight three-pointers against Chinese Taipei.
“Even when they put Quincy Davis (on him), June Mar found a way to score. That’s a big weapon for us. When June Mar is operating down low, it opens our shooters. I don’t think it was not coincidence that we were hitting our outside shots when June Mar started scoring. It’s part of the make-up of the team,” said Reyes.
“That’s a big part of our offense. June Mar’s ability to score inside."
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