By REYNALD MAGALLON
June Mar Fajardo is finally starting to prove his worth on the international stage.
Often ridiculed by critics and bashers for failing to translate his dominance in the PBA – being a six-time MVP winner – to the international scene, Fajardo put the world on notice, holding his own against the Dominican Republic frontline that also included NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns.
At one point of the contest, Fajardo even looked unstoppable even against big men of his size, even forcing the Dominican Republic coach to put Towns on him on the defensive end.
The strong showing for Fajardo, who finished with 16 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field to go along with his five rebounds, drew praises from head coach Chot Reyes.
‘Very efficient player 28 mins, 16 points didn’t miss a shot,” said Reyes who rued that the Filipinos failed to fully utilize Fajardo’s advantage inside the paint.
“If there was something I was disappointed about, towards the end, we wanted to go to him a lot more. Unfortunately, he was being guarded by a seven footer by the name of Karl-Anthony Towns as well. I thought KAT did a good job in denying him, forcing him to step outside and not give him a good low post position,” said Reyes.
Forcing the opposing team to put its best player on him is already a huge testament at how good Fajardo was playing. Even most of the record-breaking crowd of 38,115 people appreciated the six-time PBA MVP, generating wild cheers every time he touched the ball.
“We can’t complain about the effort and the game of June Mar and AJ Edu just defending and trying to stop KAT as much as he can,” Reyes added.
Fajardo, for his part, played down the big performance, saying he’s just doing what the team needs.
“Ako basta kapag nandoon ako sa loob, gagawin ko yung makakaya ko. Hindi naman ako nakikipag one-on-one sa ibang players, gusto ko kung ano lang yung maitutulong ko sa team,” said Fajardo.
