JUNE MAR SHINES
JUne Mar FaJardo marked his Philippine Basketball association (PBa) return with a monster performance to further enchance San Miguel Beer’s top 2 bid in the Philippine Cup. The 6-foot-10 Fajardo was in top Most Valuable Player 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 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 to 10.
The 29-year-old Fajardo looked sharp, his movement quicker since his recent stint with the national team 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 San Miguel Beer 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 14of-15 shooting from the field.
It was his best game since registering 42 points and 20 rebounds in Game Five 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 2 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.
ILAGAN SPARKLES IN D-LEAGUE
VALENCIA City Bukidnon-San Sebastian College seized the solo leadership in the d-League Foundation Group with an 82-73 win over SMdCnational University (nU) on Monday at the Paco arena in Manila.
rK Ilagan caught fire and erupted for 14 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter to help the Golden Harvest stay unbeaten in three games. He also had four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
“What more can we ask from him [Ilagan]. He’s exhausted but his effort remained consistent,” Golden Harvest Coach egay Macaraya said.
Ilagan was 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. His buzzer-beating triple to end the third quarter was the confidence-booster he needed as he drilled three more long bombs in the final frame.
But he saved his biggest bucket in the final minute, hitting a runner off the bank to douse SMdC-nU’s rally and made it an 82-69 with 59.1 seconds remaining.
allyn Bulanadi added 14 points, nine rebounds, five steals and four assists for the Golden Harvest.
Valencia-SSCr shot 15-of-38 from threes as a unit.
dave Ildefonso led SMdCnU with 21 points, six assists and four rebounds as the Bulldogs remained in the hunt for their first win through three
outings.