By ANGELO CAPARAS
At A Glance
- June Mar Fajardo remained wary of the dangerous TNT side despite the San Miguel Beermen enjoying a commanding 3-1 series lead in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Intern
June Mar Fajardo remained wary of the dangerous TNT side despite the San Miguel Beermen enjoying a commanding 3-1 series lead in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
The newly minted Best Player of the Conference said there's nothing to celebrate yet after SMB won Game 4, 105-91, on Sunday, July 20, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“‘Yun nga, hindi muna [namin] papangunahan kasi marami pang pwedeng mangyari. Basta kami, gagawin namin yung best namin. Magpa-practice kami before mag-start yung finals [Game 5],” said Fajardo.
While the championship seemed within reach, Fajardo stays grounded and acknowledged that the job is far from over, with SMB aiming to finish things off on Wednesday.
“Sana makuha namin sa Wednesday [‘yung championship]. Pero alam naman natin kung gaano kagaling TNT, magba-bounce back ‘yun, try nilang ipanalo yung game, pero kami, try nila namin i-closeout,” he added.
The Cebuano gentle giant, who finished with a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, also admitted he had a hard time dealing with Tropang 5G’s adjustments in Game 4.
“‘Yung adjustment ng TNT, pinapa-front ako ni Kelly [Williams]. Nahihirapan ako makatanggap ng bola, tapos may double sila gano’n.”
“Pero good thing pumapasok ang tira namin sa labas. ‘Yun ‘yung nagpapanalo sa amin,” he added.
Battling swollen feet, Fajardo stressed the importance of finishing the series in Game 5, noting that dragging it out could shift the momentum to TNT's side.
“Maga nga e. Pero okay naman. Andon naman mga PTs namin, inaalagaan naman nila ako. [...] para ready ako sa game.”
“Siyempre gusto namin matapos [sa Game 5] para makapagpahinga kami. Baka kasi kapag humaba pa kasi yung series, magkakarroon pa sila [TNT] ng momentum,” he added.