PBA Finals: Shackled June Mar Fajardo key to Meralco success
June Mar Fajardo found himself in a bind on Sunday night, his on-court struggles among the things that doomed San Miguel in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup’s championship series.
“That’s just the way it is,” he told reporters in Filipino on the heels of a 93-89 loss to the Meralco Bolts at Smart Araneta Coliseum. “Credit to them, they’ve played great throughout this series.”
Easily the heart and soul of the vaunted club, Fajardo was shackled to just 12 points and was limited to his season-low five field-goal attempts.
The reigning MVP, who is on pace to win his 10th Best Player of the Conference award, also accounted for seven of the team’s 15 turnovers as the Beermen slid to a 2-1 hole.
“Their defense is great. They’ve got plenty of bigs, and they are quick with their rotations so it’s been tiring [for me],” Fajardo said of the opposition, who has the likes of Raymond Almazan, rookie Brandon Bates, Norbert Torres and even Kyle Pascual taking turns in defending the most dominant player in the league.
CJ Perez, the other steady presence for San Miguel in this All-Filipino derby, wasn’t too keen on pinning it all on his star teammate’s woes.
“It’s just the free throws,” he said in a separate chat. “Those were the most crucial. We missed seven in the last [minutes], and that was the story.”
Five of those muffed freebies, following a 75-all deadlock in the payoff frame, were from Perez. And those were just as critical in San Miguel’s defeat, the spitfire guard insists.
A closer examination of the Game 3 stats sheet, however, showed that San Miguel lost in both the rebounds and assists race. The Beermen only had 50 boards against the Bolts’ 57, and 15 assists versus Meralco’s 22.
‘Improve our energy’
Fajardo, Perez, and co. were also behind the challengers in points in the paint (36-32), second-chance points (22-11), and error conversions (20-13).
“We really need to improve our energy to beat Meralco. We’re losing in rebounds—offensive rebounds. And their hustle [plays],” said Perez.
The crafty guard, however, is confident that those issues can be addressed in the two-day lull heading into Wednesday’s Game 4 at the same venue.“It’s going to be crucial as we don’t want to be crushed (with a big deficit),” he said of the return match.
“The two days will be big for our rest. And of course, June Mar since he’s really having a hard time. He needs rest. And of course, we need to adjust whatever that is we need to adjust,” Perez added.
If anything, Perez and Fajardo can take comfort in the fact that San Miguel has yet to lose back-to-back games this tournament. The Beermen suffered that only once this season when they stumbled against NorthPort and then Magnolia in the previous Commissioner’s Cup which they eventually ruled.
It will be truly interesting to see how the decorated San Miguel side recoups against a Meralco crew hell-bent on making the most out of their first-ever Philippine Cup finals. INQ
- https://www.msn.com/en-ph/news/other/pba-finals-shackled-june-mar-fajardo-key-to-meralco-success/ar-BB1nYlP4
Related
Karen Davila clarifies remark on BINI ‘opening door’ for P-pop
Karen Davila made clarifications on her earlier remark about how BINI is “opening the door” for P-pop on the international stage, which drew backlash from netizens including SB19 fans. The veteran broadcaster spoke about BINI on “TV Patrol” last Tuesday, July 23, after a report about the octet being the first P-pop group to perform at the KCON LA 2024. The international event is a three-day concert and convention featuring the biggest acts and...
NewsBoy, five, born without hand becomes world's youngest to get bionic Hero Arm
Credit: Ashley Marotta A five-year-old boy who was born without a left hand has become the youngest in the world to get a bionic Hero Arm, making him "feel like a superhero". Jordan Marotta's mother Ashley Marotta said the Iron Man-style arm was an "instant confidence boost" for her son and he had rushed back to his school to show his friends. The custom-made, 3D printed prosthetic is produced by Bristol-based Open Bionics, which was founded in 2014 and launched four clinics in America in the last year. Jordan, of Long Island, New York state, is now the youngest owner of one of the firm's Hero Arms. The prosthetic uses special sensors which detect muscular contractions and turn them into bionic hand movements.
NewsESPN tips hat off to Pacquiao
TOKYO — Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao, all dressed up for an exhibition bout here tomorrow, has been named the best Asian athlete of the 21st century, according to an article by sports website ESPN. In its report, ESPN acknowledged that Pacquiao is “arguably one of the greatest boxers of all time.” “He won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions, showcasing his versatility and dominance. Pacquiao’s career spanned over three...
NewsHunger keeps rising
The alarming thing about the hunger problem is not only that the rate is so high, but also that it is rising quickly. This is plainly stated in the last three Social Weather Stations (SWS) reports on hunger: “Hunger rises to 17.6% in June 2024 from 14.2% in March 2024,” “Hunger rises to 14.2% in March 2024 from 12.6% in December 2023,” and “Hunger rises from 9.8% in September to 12.6% in December 2023” (www.sws.org.ph, 7/23/24, 4/30/24, and...
News4 Japanese firms in Batangas ecozone to hire over 1,400 workers
MANILA, Philippines — Four Japanese manufacturing companies with facilities inside the First Philippine Industrial Park (FPIP) economic zone in Batangas are looking for over 1,400 workers to support their operations. In a statement yesterday, FPIP external relations manager John Carlo Navalta said the four Japanese locators need at least 1,430 new workers. These four companies are Brother Industries (Philippines) Inc., Canon Business Machines...
NewsUS economy beats growth expectations in second quarter
WASHINGTON – US economic growth blew past expectations in the second quarter, boosted by consumer spending and inventory building despite high interest rates, government data showed Thursday. After a slow start this year, the world’s biggest economy grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the April to June period, up from 1.4 percent in the first three months, said the Commerce Department. The initial estimate was markedly above the 1.9 percent...
NewsWellspring apologizes to Puyat family, Abby Binay over 'Gil Tulog' campaign
MANILA, Philippines —The company behind an advertising campaign for a sleep supplement apologized to the family of the late Senate President Gil Puyat and to the Makati City government over a marketing strategy that involved changing the street name of Gil Puyat to "Gil Tulog." Tulog in Filipino means sleep. In a statement on Friday night, Wellspring said offending anybody was never its intention, and the wordplay in the campaign was used solely...
NewsThink La Niña, Marcos tells Filipinos
LUCENA CITY—Despite the troubles brought about by the supertyphoon and enhanced southwest monsoon, President Marcos urged Filipinos and government officials to intensify their preparations for the La Niña phenomenon. “We have to prepare for the next flood. This is the first typhoon within the La Niña phenomenon. There’s a long way to go. So, we have to prepare. Let’s think about preparing,” Mr. Marcos told national and Quezon government...
News