YOUNG Isaac Go relished matching up with June Mar Fajardo in the PBA Philippine Cup playoffs.
While he may not win the marquee one-on-one battle against the seven-time league MVP, go said holding his own against the 6-foot-10 San Miguel star will give him the confidence he needs in his young career.
“Not everyone gets the chance to play against an all-time great. So me having the chance to play against him, blessing siya,” said the Terrafirma big man. “At the same time, competitive ako. I want to try my best, I want to give my all.”
Go stood his ground against the seven-time MVP the last time, going 6-of-11 from beyond the arc to finish with 22 points aside from grabbing five rebounds as the Dyip stunned the top seeded Beermen, 106-95, and forced a sudden-death for a place in one of the two best-of-seven semifinal playoffs.
Fajardo scored 21 points and hauled down 16 rebounds - numbers that impressed the 27-year-old product of Ateneo.
“That’s the reason why he’s in the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) conversation,” said Go of his San Miguel counterpart.
READ Fajardo says he must do a better job defending Go
Fajardo being an intimidating presence down low, Go said it’s imperative for him and the rest of the Dyip to hit their outside shots to have another shot at beating the Beermen.
“If he’s in the paint, hirap talaga ang mga guards namin na maka-layup, kami na maka-poste. So really the outside shooting, that’s gonna be our main weapon,” he said. “So being able to bring out June Mar opens up a lot of our game.”
The sudden-death between the eighth-seeded Dyip and no.1 Beermen is set Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Terrafirma will try to become the first No. 8 team to advance to the semis by twice beating the top-seeded team since Northport did the feat against NLEX during the 2019 Governors Cup.
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