By Jonas Terrado
June Mar Fajardo apologized for his rare moment of madness in San Miguel Beer’s Game 2 victory over Alaska in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals when he was slapped a technical foul for spiking the ball early in the second quarter.
Fajardo had just scored off Nonoy Baclao underneath to cut the Aces’ lead to 34-23 with 9:39 remaining in the second when he vent his frustration over the margin with a spike, the ball soaring past the shot clock. Referees were quick to give the reigning MVP a rare technical.
The 6-foot-10 center kept his cool the rest of the way, playing a major role in San Miguel’s comeback by making key baskets in the fourth quarter for a 105-94 victory and a step shy of advancing to the finals with a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
“Sorry, sorry, nanggigil ako,” Fajardo said after posting 21 points and 18 rebounds for the Beermen.
“I don’t know why I reacted that way, maybe because I was too eager to help the team win and we were behind early,” he added in Filipino.
Fajardo had earlier been praised for his calmness during the infamous brawl between Gilas Pilipinas and Australia in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers last July 2 at the Philippine Arena, citing a moment when he almost fought then-Rain or Shine’s Larry Rodriguez during a heated exchange in a 2014 Philippine Cup semifinal game.
Still, Fajardo won the weekly Cignal-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week award as he zeroed in on leading San Miguel Beer to another finals stint.
The 6-10 Fajardo averaged 21.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 2.0 assists for the period of July 9-15 on the way to snaring the weekly citation, beating former college rival Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra.
