JUNE Mar Fajardo was hardly surprised that San Miguel Beer pulled off a one-sided victory over Alaska in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup despite his absence on Wednesday night.
Without the SMB superstar, who was out with a right knee injury he suffered in their loss to Rain or Shine last Friday, the Beermen turned to their torrid outside shooting to frustrate the Aces anew.
“Tiwala naman ako sa team; sobrang lakas at deep ng bench namin,” Fajardo said.
Aside from the long-range barrage by Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, Tyler Wilkerson, and Marcio Lassiter, Gabby Espinas and Jay-R Reyes filled the void left by Fajardo as they combined for 16 points and 18 rebounds.
While there was no tear found in his knee, Fajardo still gave in to doctor’s advice to rest his knee due to swelling.
“Swelling lang,” the 6-foot-10 slotman said. “No major damage, walang napunit.”Pero ‘di ko kayang pilitin.”
Good thing, the Beermen’s next game won’t be until over a week or on Easter Sunday against Star.
“Mahaba naman ang pahinga namin,” Fajardo said. “Baka by next game, pwede na ako.”
SMB playmaker Chris Ross hopes his team can just hold the fort until Fajardo gets healthy.
"We have enough talent to do that and keep advancing in the tournament, but everyone has to pull their own weight and we should be fine."
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