June Mar Fajardo receives the Finals MVP award in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals in this May 2019 photo courtesy of PBA Images.
Cebu City, Philippines—If there’s one person aspiring basketball players in Cebu should look up to, it must be June Mar Fajardo.
After all, the gentle giant from the southern Cebu town of Pinamungajan who plays for the multi-titled San Miguel Beer is the Philippine Basketball Association’s (PBA) reigning five-time Most Valuable Player and an eight-time PBA champion.
He is also an eight-time Best Player of the Conference awardee in the PBA, a three-time PBA Finals MVP, and a seven-time PBA All-Star.
That’s just actually half of his achievements so far in the pro league, which means he really deserves to be considered the country’s most dominant basketball player today.
He, too, should be the best to get an advice from.
So what’s the MVP’s advice for Cebu’s best collegiate players who are preparing to clash in the Cesafi All-Star game on Sunday, November 10, 2019 at the Cebu Coliseum?
Read: Lineup of Cesafi college and high school All-Star teams bared
“Duwa lang sila ug tarong then respetohon nila ang game,” said the 6-foot-10 Cebuano.
(Just play well and respect the game.)
“Para sa katong players nas gusto muabot sa PBA, kailangan practice og maayu then skwela og tarong and maminaw sa ila coach. Pag dili ka maminaw sa coach, di ka coachable nga player, di ka magdugay sa PBA or dili ka muabot sa level na imo gusto maabtan. Kailangan coachable gyud ka,” Fajardo added.
Watch Fajardo’s interview with CDN Digital here:
The former Cesafi MVP who led the University of Cebu (UC) Webmasters to two titles in the Cesafi is in town for a PBA Governors’ Cup game at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City on Saturday, November 9, 2019.
Read: PBA treats Cebu fans with surprise visits
The Beermen are hoping to sweep their last two games, starting from the game against the E-Painters, to solidify their chances of landing in the top four for a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.
At the moment, the Beermen are at fourth, trailing NLEX (7-1), TNT (7-1), and Meralco (7-2). San Miguel’s last game after Rain or Shine will be against TNT.
“Kailangan gyud namo daogon ang [last two games namo],” said Fajardo. (We really have to win our last two games.)
That task would be quite a tough one, considering that San Miguel will be playing with a new import on Saturday, one who Fajardo and his teammates haven’t seen playing yet.
Read: San Miguel expected to parade new reinforcement in Cebu game vs Rain or Shine
“Wa pa ko kita sa imong import karon pero basta kami, locals, step up lang gyud mi. Di mi dapat mag salig sa import,” Fajardo said.
(I haven’t seen howm our import plays yet but for us, locals, we just have to step up and not bank too much on the import.)
San Miguel is expected be parading former Cleveland Cavalier John Holland to reinforce its roster while prolific import Dez Wells continues to be on the injury list.