by Waylon Galvez
Though Fajardo admitted that there are things that they need to polish, he’s confident their own version of ‘Twin Towers’ can reap more glory for the team.
“Maganda naman yung ensayo namin together with Christian, pero madaming aayusin pa, pagtrabahuhan pa. Hindi naman basta basta na lalaro kaming dalawa ok na agad e,” said Fajardo.
“Kailangan pa din niya mag-adjust sa system. Siyempre tutulungan namin sya na maka-adjust, but at the same time kailangan lahat kami tulungan para mag-improve yung chemistry ng team,” added Fajardo.
SMB, which won its fourth straight Philippine Cup a few weeks ago, resumed practice session last Friday but it was only last Tuesday that the 6-foot-10 Fajardo rejoined the team.
Fajardo and the rest of the Beermen will start its title-retention campaign in the ongoing PBA Commissioner’s Cup on May 9 when it plays Meralco at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
Already a powerhouse squad with four of its starting lineup – namely Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot – voted to the First Mythical Team last season, SMB made Standhardinger as its No. 1 pick during the 2017 PBA Rookie Draft.
Standhardinger played for Gilas Pilipinas in the William Jones Cup in Taiwan, the Asian Cup in Lebanon and helped the national team retain the gold medal in the last Southeast Asian Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He is fresh from his stint with the Hong Kong based franchise in the ASEAN Basketball League (ABL), and joined the SMB practice session immediately over the weekend.
Because of that, league observers tagged SMB as heavy favorites to win the title.
Fajardo, however, insists that it would still be a tough grind for them in terms of winning the championship as other teams are equally strong with their imports this mid-season conference.
“Malalakas yung ibang teams, hindi naman magiging madali yung manalo ng championship,” said Fajardo. “Lalo ngayon may import, talagang magiging mahirap yung mag-champion.”