June Mar Fajardo is a nine‑time PBA MVP. He’s generally regarded as the GOAT, in fact—meaning he could demand the ball every time out, and he’d probably score more often than not.
But in a team full of scorers, The Kraken is more than willing to cede the scoring duties, and that’s exactly what he did in the San Miguel Beermen’s 126-114 victory over the Converge FiberXers on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
June Mar Fajardo, the Facilitator
Against Converge, June Mar Fajardo took only eight shots and didn’t actually look for his own offense. Instead, he embraced a facilitator’s role, attracting the defense and issuing dimes to his fellow Beermen. After a little over 39 minutes of action, the gentle giant from Cebu tied his career‑high with 10 assists to go along with 21 rebounds.
That, according to Fajardo, was by design given San Miguel’s firepower.
“Ang dami na naming scorer. ‘Yung pinasok ni coach, halos lahat scorer ‘yun. Ang kulang sa grupo namin ‘yung role player, pwede ko i‑fill in ‘yung gap na ‘yun…,” Fajardo told reporters after the game. “‘Yung score naman nila, score ko na rin, score na ng team. Ayoko rin makipag‑kompitensya sa scoring, andami naming scorers…”
True enough, the Beermen had more than enough offense even with Fajardo finishing with only 5 points. Import George King did much of the heavy lifting on Wednesday with a conference‑high 46, while Don Trollano added 27 off the bench. Jerrick Ahanmisi chipped in 15, also off the bench, even as three others—Marcio Lassiter, Jericho Cruz, and Rodney Brondial—all finished a basket short of double digits.
That offense will be tested again on Saturday, August 8, when June Mar Fajardo and the rest of the Beermen take on the Macau Giant Pandas at the Ynares Center in Montalban.
