By REYNALD MAGALLON
June Mar Fajardo admitted that the plethora of Meralco big men getting thrown at him in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup is starting to wear him down and the two-day break before the pivotal Game 4 would be a big help for him.
After dropping Game 3 with a 93-89 decision, Fajardo and the Beermen will have two days to figure things out and most importantly rest their bodies after the highly competitive first three games of the series.
Fajardo in particular, had four big men in Raymond Almazan, Brandon Bates, Norbert Torres, Kyle Pascual, taking turns in banging bodies with him just to try limit his impact in the game.
That, on top of also challenging the Cliff Hodge activities inside the paint and the slashing guards of the Bolts in Chris Newsome and Chris Banchero left Fajardo huffing-and-puffing after the game.
“Maganda yung depensa nila mabilis yung rotation nila nakakapagod din,” said Fajardo after Game 3.
“Malaki bagay ito para sa amin, lalo na sa akin makapag pahinga ako ng mahaba so gagamitin ko iyon ng maayos para fresh ako sa Game 4,” he added.
Getting tired out by Meralco’s bigs took toll on Fajardo in Game 3 as he was held to just five attempts from the field while committing game-high seven turnovers and battling through foul trouble.
He finished with 12 points – most of it from the foul line including the last two free throws that gave the Beermen the last taste of the lead, 89-88, with a little over a minute left in the game.
Making sure that he gets enough rest is a must for Fajardo especially that he’s expecting the series to go its long route despite the Beermen falling into a 1-2 advantage.
“Siguro, maganda yung depensa nila maganda yung team game nila maganda yung preparation nila kailangan naming icounter yon,” said Fajardo whose Beermen was hardly a shadow of their dominant self in Game 3 only registering 15 assists, allowing 22 offensive rebounds and draining just 10 treys in the loss.
“Credit sa kanila sobrang ganda nilalaro nila sa series na ito. Long series ito/ For sure long series ito. Gagawin namin lahat para makabounce back next game,” he added
