Cebuano big man June Mar Fajardo of the San Miguel Beermen ushered in the “Age of Abai” as he was named the PBA’s Most Valuable Player for the second year in a row during the league’s Leo Awards right before Game 4 of the Governors’ Cup finals last night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The MVP award was the crown jewel of the former University of Cebu (UC) big man’s impressive haul that saw him win the Sportsmanship Award and make both the All-Defensive and Mythical First Team.
The 25-year old from Pinamungajan, Cebu, who is more popularly known as “Abai,” was the runaway winner after averaging 17.38 points, 12.75 rebounds and 1.74 blocks this season.
In spite bagging the coveted award, the 25-year old who started off as a project for the Webmasters before slowly transforming himself into the most dominant force in Philippine basketball today, remained humble in his thirst for greatness.
“Dapat hindi tayo makontento. (We should not be contented.) Just keep on improving,” Fajardo said.
With the award, Fajardo joined some pretty elite company as he became just the fourth player to win back-to-back MVP awards.
The others are legends Bogs Adarnado, Alvin Patrimonio and the last player to do so, Danny Ildefonso, who achieved the feat in 2000-2001.
He also became just the ninth player in league history to win at least two MVP trophies.
“Of course this is a blessing for me, and joining the players who won back-to-back MVP’s is truly amazing,” Fajardo said in Filipino. “I want to cherish this moment.”
In winning the Sportsmanship Award, Fajardo shared his secret.
“Kailangan cool lang sa court kasi hindi dapat magpapadala sa emosyon kasi mawawala ka sa focus sa paglalaro (You just have to be cool on the court because if you let your emotions get the best of you, you will lose your focus),” said Fajardo.
Fajardo is just in his third year as a pro. He has had a colorful career so far since leaving UC, where he won two championships in the Cesafi. He won his first PBA crown early this year, helping San Miguel top the Philippine Cup over the Alaska Aces.
Fajardo was joined on the Mythical First Team by another Cebuano, former University of the Visayas center Greg Slaughter of Ginebra along with Jayson Castro of Talk N Text, Rain or Shine’s Paul Lee and his San Miguel teammate Arwind Santos.
The others to make the All-Defensive Team were San Miguel’s Chris Ross, Alaska’s Calvin Abueva and Ping Exciminiano and Rain or Shine’s Gabe Norwood.
Meanwhile, Global Port’s Terrence Romeo was named as the Most Improved Player and his teammate Stanley Pringle was crowned as the Rookie of the Year. /with a report from inquirer.net
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