MANILA, Philippines – June Mar Fajardo marked his PBA return with a monster performance to further enhance San Miguel Beer’s Top Two bid in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo was in top MVP form after averaging 33.5 points, 16 rebounds and 2.5 assists. He also shot an astounding 85.7 percent from the floor to lead San Miguel Beer to victories over NLEX and NorthPort last week.
His dominant effort earned him his first Cignal-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week this conference. The five-time PBA Most Valuable Player beat Columbian rookie CJ Perez and young gunner Rashawn McCarthy, Meralco’s Baser Amer, TNT’s Roger Pogoy and Ginebra’s LA Tenorio and Aljon Mariano for the weekly citation for the period of March 6-10.
The 29-year-old Fajardo looked sharp, his movement quicker since his recent stint with Gilas in the sixth and final window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
He had 27 points, 13 rebounds and two assists, mocking the defense thrown at him by making 10 his 13 shots to lead SMB past NLEX, 121-111 last Friday.
Fajardo increased his output two days later, firing 40 points, hauling down 19 boards and issuing three assists as San Miguel nosed out NorthPort, 113-107. He finished the game with a near perfect 14-of-15 shooting from the field.
It was his best game since registering 42 points and 20 rebounds in Game 5 of their title-clinching win in last season’s Philippine Cup Finals over Magnolia.
The Beermen have won their last four games overall to move to solo third spot in the standings with their 6-3 record. Phoenix paces the tournament with its 8-2 record, with Rain or Shine at second spot (7-3).
San Miguel tries to inch closer to a Top Two finish with a win against Phoenix when both squads collide this Saturday at the Panabo Multi-Purpose Tourism Sports and Cultural Center in Davao del Norte.