Of all his Most Valuable Player awards, the record-extending seventh plum came as the biggest surprise for June Mar Fajardo. It was the hardest, and also the sweetest – a feeling he never thought he would be savoring once again.

Never in his imagination. And never in the wake of the challenges that he had been through.

After all, more than the healing of the physical wounds from an operation to repair his broken tibia, Fajardo also had to deal with an even deeper cut inside his heart following the loss of his mother, who, through his first six MVP awarding, had been on his side every time he receives the award.

On Sunday night, Nov. 5, Fajardo had no one on his side – his mother Marites wasn’t around anymore to proudly hold the new addition of silverware from another splendid season of the self-confessed "Mama’s boy".

“Sobrang saya ko lang na nakakuha ako ng panalo ngayon. How I wish na nandito yung parents ko, 'yung mama ko especially,” said Fajardo whose mom passed away in August 2021 all while he was also still recovering from the leg injury

The 6-foot-10 Cebuano gentle giant, however, was still happy, knowing full well that her mom should be proud of what he had achieved especially after managing to stand tall through adversity.

“Sa nanay ko, masaya siya ngayon, masaya siya kasama sila lolo. Andiyan sila ngayon, tinitingnan ako, ginagabayan ako. Para sa kanila ito kung ano yung na-achieve ko, ngayon kung ano ginagawa ko dinidedicate ko sa kanila on and off the court,” said Fajardo.

Fajardo admitted that he entertained thoughts of hanging up his sneakers during his recovery but was convinced that it was only one challenge that he has to go through to become stronger, not just in basketball but also in life.

“Iniisip ko nga mag-gigive up na ako. Okay na ako sa basketball pero alam ko sa sarili ko na kaya ko pang maglaro, nainjure lang talaga ako,” said Fajardo.

 “‘Yon ‘yung ‘pre tinetest lang tayo ni God eh’. Binibigyan niya tayo ng mga challenges kasi di naman tayo lalakas kapag easy going lang lahat. Kailangan natin ng mga challenges para ma-test yung characters natin, mas nabibuild yung character natin,” he added.

And Fajardo came out on top of it all. Not only he came back from the setback but made sure to announce his return to the top in style – with another MVP trophy on his hands.

“Shout out din sa sarili ko kasi di ako na- give up,” said Fajardo.