by Jonas Terrado
The San Miguel Beermen are taking a long-term approach when it comes to the condition of prized center June Mar Fajardo, who earlier this month was diagnosed with a strained right calf that forced him to miss the early stages of the FIBA Asia Cup for Gilas Pilipinas.
Fajardo played just seven minutes in the Beermen’s 115-112 victory over the GlobalPort Batang Pier Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as a precaution for not only his calf strain but also a recurring injury of his left knee.
“Unfortunately para kay June Mar, di namin siya i-ginamble dahil this is a long season for him, and we don’t want to aggravate his injury e dahil after this conference may Gilas na naman,” Austria said.
Fajardo is expected to play a major role for Gilas when it returns to action in November for the home-and-away qualifier of the 2019 FIBA World Cup.
But the Beermen would like to see him get into near perfect condition as they seek to complete a rare Grand Slam in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
San Miguel is carrying a 3-1 record going into game against NLEX which was being played at presstime.
The Beermen play three games in the eight days following last night’s match, beginning with an out-of-town meet with the Alaska Aces in Angeles City, Pampanga on Sept. 2.
They next face the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sept. 6 at the Big Dome, before facing Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Sept. 10 at the same venue.
Fajardo, meanwhile, refrained from giving a timetable on when he’ll be able to make a full recovery, but assured that he won’t be missing any games.
“Di ko pa alam. Pero maglalaro naman ako,” he said.
