SAN Miguel will be going to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs with its most potent weapon back in harness.
Reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo returned to active duty in the Beermen’s final outing in the eliminations and hardly showed any rust after being sidelined for six weeks due to a fractured left hand.
The 34-year-old center tallied 11 points, nine rebounds, and six assists in a 125-117 win over Blackwater on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo’s return to action comes at a perfect time as the Beermen prime up for the quarterfinals next week holding twice-to-beat advantage.
The Beermen certainly welcome the return of the 6-foot-11 Cebuano.
“He makes my job easy,” admitted import Bennie Boatwright, who finished with 44 points while playing with Fajardo for the first time at the post.
“He’s such a great passer. So when he gets inside, they have to double on or they go zone,” he added. “So if they don’t double, he can go one-on-one. So he’s a force to reckon with.”
Coach Jorge Gallent was surprised with the way Fajardo played in his first game back as the seven-time MVP appeared in shape despite being sidelined for more than a month.
“He was great today. I was expecting his wind to kind of bother him, but you know it didn’t. In short when June Mar was out, he was lifting weights and was doing all of the things that could help his game wind back,” said Gallent.
“You know that’s very good for us. He played I think 24 minutes and you know, I didn’t see a sign of him getting tired. So very good for him when he was injured, he was doing something to get in shape.”
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