By REYNALDO MAGALLO
June Mar Fajardo is back to his old, dominant ways.
Proof of that was his winning of his record-extending 9th Best Player of the Conference award in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup before Game 4 of the Finals showdown between San Miguel Beer and TNT at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Aug. 28.
Fajardo needed only three conferences since his return from a shin injury to reclaim the award which he last won in the 2019 Philippine Cup.
This time, he bested San Miguel teammate CJ Perez, TNT’s Mikey Williams and Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar for the prestigious award.
The six-time MVP lorded over the field garnering a total of 1119 points, 501 points coming from the statistical race, 537 from the media and 81 from the rest of the PBA players.
Settling for the bridesmaid finish was Perez who had 776 total points while Williams settled for third with 610. Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar came in fourth and fifth with 468 and 415 points respectively.
Fajardo averaged 21.33 points, 17 rebounds, 2.33 assists, and 1.67 blocks throughout the conference. He even helped the Beermen seize a 2-1 Finals series lead over the defending champions in Tropang Giga, putting up a masterful 27 points, 27 rebounds outing in Game 3.
Questions were raised whether Fajardo can regain his old form after going down with a complete fracture with his right shin back in 2020. The Cebuano giant however slowly worked his way back to his best shape playing two solid conferences in the 2021 season which even enabled him to win the PBA Comeback Players of the Year award.