Barangay Ginebra San Miguel may have won Game 1 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series against the San Miguel Beermen. But Tim Cone knows full well the gargantuan challenge his wards are facing in trying to guard San Miguel’s inimitable pillar, June Mar Fajardo.
In Game 1, Fajardo put up 27 points and 23 rebounds and, at times, looked unstoppable and immovable, even with the best efforts of Ginebra big men Japeth Aguilar, Norbert Torres, and Troy Rosario. That effort isn’t lost on Cone, who is preaching “multiple efforts” against the nine-time MVP.
“We obviously played a tag team on him [Fajardo] with Japeth and Norbert. It’s just about multiple efforts against him because you can’t just do one effort against him and expect to stop him,” Cone pointed out after Ginebra’s 99-90 win over the Beermen at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday.
Ginebra Bigs Need to Keep Battling, Says Cone
While Cone wants his bigs to give multiple efforts against the 6-foot-10 Cebuano, he’s well aware, nonetheless, that it is a Herculean task to contain The Kraken. And he’s hoping that a concerted effort could at least wear down the San Miguel behemoth in the long run.
“It’s physically daunting to guard a guy that big and that strong and keep him from his position. So, you know, our guys, both of them, Japeth and Norbert, were exhausted just trying to guard the same guy,” Cone added. “It’s a credit to June Mar on how good he is and, you know, how good he’s been… So, we just go out there, and Japeth and Norbert are going to continue to battle. And, hopefully, you’ll see maybe we can wear him down over seven games…”
That sounds like a plan—wear down the big man.
Cone, of all people, though, knows it is no guarantee that plan will work, as Fajardo didn’t exactly wear down when San Miguel beat Ginebra in the semifinals of the last Philippine Cup.
But if Ginebra’s bigs can give those multiple efforts, maybe the script will flip this time around.
