PASSI CITY – Team Scottie head coach Yeng Guiao believes that the absence of June Mar Fajardo in Team Japeth gave them one less threat to worry although he also stressed that any of the superstars in both teams can make a difference in the All-Star showdown on Sunday, March 12.

“Malaking advantage iyon actually. There are really very few big men on both teams. Samin ang malaki lang talaga namin actually eh si Christian pero si June Mar pinalitan ni Raymond [Almazan] so that's still going to count as a big man,” said the six-time all-star head coach.

Guiao said that even in an All-Star game, defending against Fajardo would still be a hard task given his size and agility. The San Miguel star big man was out due to a knee injury he sustained during SMB’s stint in the EASL Champions Week and was replaced by Meralco’s Almazan.

“Of course it's really hard to match up with a June Mar even in an all-star game so we feel na mayroong slight advantage, but it's not just about June Mar, it's also about the rest kasi mga superstars naman lahat ito,” said the Rain or Shine coach.

“It makes our problem a little less of what we expected to encounter. It's still not about June Mar alone because the rest of the guys can also make a difference,” he added.

While admitting that it would be big shoes to fill in for somebody like Fajardo, Almazan said he will be just out there and have fun, hopefully give the fans a treat with another competitive game.

“Sabi lang sa amin ni coach Tim (Cone) na mag enjoy kami jahit all star. Bigyan namin ng magandang laban and show yung mga tao na kahit na all-star, mapakita yung quality ng game,” shared the Bolts slotman.

“Malaking sapatos yung kailangan kong punan kasi June Mar yung pinalitan ko basta I'll do my best in the all-star para sa mga tao dito sa Passi,” he added.