JUNE Mar Fajardo sat out the entire second quarter for San Miguel in its PBA Philippine Cup win over Phoenix on Sunday.
Don’t worry, San Miguel fans. Fajardo wasn’t hurt. It was just that the second unit anchored by Mo Tautuaa played so impressively in the second quarter that he himself asked SMB coach Leo Austria not to bring him back.
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“’Yung second group, they performed well. June Mar mismo, nagsabi sa akin, ‘Coach, patapusin mo na kay Mo ‘yung second quarter dahil maganda naman,’” said Austria.
That second quarter was actually the turning point of the game as the Beermen outscored the Fuelmasters, 34-21, en route to a 111-92 victory.
Fajardo still had his usual numbers when he returned in the third quarter and finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Tautuaa, on the other hand, saw action for 15 minutes and 41 seconds and had seven points, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal. Austria said Tautuaa also did a tremendous job on the defensive end guarding Phoenix big man Kai Ballungay, who still ended up with a team-high 23 points.
On offense, Tautuaa and Trollano combined for 28 of the Beermen’s 46 bench points.
“It’s a good incentive and motivation para kay Mo because in the past, talagang limited ‘yung playing time niya. Mabuti na lang maganda ang nilaro niya to extend his playing time,” said Austria.
Tautuaa's quickness also came in handy since he was a better match-up defensively against Ballungay and Jason Perkins compared to Fajardo, Austria said.
“He played well on defense especially guarding the big man of Phoenix who is very agile. ‘Yun ang one of the weakness ni June Mar, siya ang inaatake. But with Mo, that’s the reason why lumaki ‘yung lamang namin nung second quarter,” said Austria.
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