June Mar Fajardo is not one to waste the opportunity given to San Miguel to be in the semifinals of the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup.
June Mar Fajardo admitted the hectic PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup playoff schedule is beginning to take a toll on him.
If one looks at the past two weeks for the Beermen, it is easy to understand why.
San Miguel first engaged Converge in a best-of-five quarterfinals that went the distance where Fajardo produced a herculean 40-point, 24-rebound effort in the deciding match.
In between, San Miguel also had to face a tough Suwon KT Sonicboom side in the East Asia Super League opener last Oct. 2 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
At 34, Fajardo has struggled to recover quickly after only having a day to rest between games in what has continued to become an intense playoffs.
“Nakakapagod 'yung sobrang dami naming games. Last two weeks, sobrang dami naming games. Pahinga lang isang araw tapos walang pahinga. Pagod lang talaga,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo looked visibly tired after the Beermen's 122-105 loss to Ginebra in the semifinal opener at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
He finished with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field he topped with 16 rebounds.
At the end of the said match, the 6-foot-10 giant politely refused requests for an interview, saying he wanted to go home and rest.
“Pag-uwi ko nga sa bahay, kain lang tapos ligo, tapos dapat kaagad. Paggising ko, tanghali na,” said Fajardo.
Fajardo does not even have the time for his favorite buffer in between highly charged games.
“Wala nga, hindi na ako nag-do-Dota ngayon , eh. Pagod na talaga. Wala akong time," he said.
"Ito lang two weeks, sunud-sunod ang mga games namin mula playoffs,” he added.
But make no mistake about it. Fajardo is not making any excuses.
Fajardo atoned for his subpar performance in the series opener as he came through with 23 points, 21 rebounds, six assists and two blocks to help San Miguel even the series with a 131-125 overtime win on Friday, Oct. 11.
Fajardo is also not one to complain, knowing that his team is blessed to be at this stage of the tournament.
"Gagamitin namin ang kaunting pahinga, i-ma-maximize namin. Sobrang [hectic] ng schedule namin, eh. Every other day. Hindi ka naman puwedeng mag-complain. Sobrang blessed pa rin kaming nasa ganitong position kami, nasa semis kami,” he said.
"'Yung ibang teams nga, gustong nasa semis pero hindi sila pinalad. Kami, nandito, kaya wala kaming rason para mag-complain.”