By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The accolades just keep on pouring for June Mar Fajardo.
The San Miguel Beermen behemoth clinched a record-extending 8th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, the only player in the history of the league to achieve such feat.
Fajardo edged his teammate at San Miguel, CJ Perez, and the former Barangay Ginebra San Miguel big man Christian Standhardinger, for the trophy awarded last August 18, 2024.
The six-foot-ten dominant center tallied an average of 17.8 points, 13.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.7 blocks during the 48th season of the PBA.
During that span, Fajardo’s consistency wearing the San Miguel jersey steered the franchise to a championship title during the Commissioner’s Cup conference and a runner-up finish in the All-Filipino.
Despite a shaky start in the Commissioner’s Cup, Fajardo’s resurgence in the final four elimination games of San Miguel put them in their sharpest form, winning it all to end their drought in the import-laced conference.
On the other hand, Fajardo had a stellar outing during the All-Filipino Conference but the hungrier Meralco Bolts squad came out on top as they notched their first-ever PBA title after defeating San Miguel in six games.
Humble as he always was, Fajardo thanked everyone who supported him when his journey in the sport of basketball started in Cebu.
“Nagpapasalamat ako kay God. Kung hindi dahil sa kanya, wala ang lahat ng ito. Kay God galling ang aking height, ang aking asset, at lahat ng meron ako,” Fajardo said after receiving his 8th MVP trophy.
Now, Fajardo will have a new set of missions as the PBA Governor’s Cup just kicked off, aiming to take the San Miguel franchise once again to the championship round together with their import Jordan Adams.
