June Mar Fajardo’s 40-point night carries San Miguel to semis

June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel shoots over the Converge defense in their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series on Sunday, October 6, 2024. | PBA Images

Cebu’s June Mar Fajardo had 40 points and 24 rebounds to lead the San Miguel Beermen to a 109-105 victory over the Converge FiberXers in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City on Sunday, October 7, 2024.

San Miguel on Sunday night took everything Converge could offer, putting out one fire after another to pull out a the victory in the deciding Game 5 of their quarterfinals series.

“We just went to him and just decided to what to do on the court,” head coach Jorge Gallent said of the reigning Most Valuable Player from Pinamungajan town in Cebu. “So my hat’s off to June Mar. He played his heart out.”

San Miguel will battle Barangay Ginebra in a best-of-seven Final Four series that gets going Wednesday next week.

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“Credit also to Converge for giving us quite the series.,” said Fajardo, who had his fifth career 40-point outing. “We all stepped up because we knew this is do-or-die. We just had to win.”

Converge looked like it was poised for a shocker at the hilltop arena until Fajardo got to work in the second half, pouring 18 points of his total in the two final frames.

Alex Cabagnot, a former San Miguel star, also turned in his finest outing, his efforts going down the drain in the final 2:11 as the FiberXers’ shooting conked out when it mattered most.

Import EJ Anosike had 23 points and 10 rebounds, while CJ Perez added 10 points, six rebound and nine assists for the Beermen, who arrested their two-game slide in the playoffs in perhaps the most critical moment off their campaign.

Converge import Jalen Jones led the way with 29 points and 17 rebound, but scored zero point in the payoff period. Alec Stockton chipped in 22 points, Bryan Santos added 16 while Cabagnot had 14.