JUNEMAR Fajardo of San Miguel Beer says the Beermen have many weapons in their arsenal going into Game 1 of their 48th Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals against the Meralco Bolts.
“Hindi lang naman ako ang point of focus ng defense, marami kaming scorers,” said the 6’10” Fajardo, whose first of 11 championship appearances for the franchise came in 2012.
Fajardo may deny it all he wants, but the Bolts’ primary battlecry is to stop him from wrecking havoc inside.
Game 1 is set at 7:30 p.m. today (Wednesday).
His leadership and dominance inside are valued by the squad, which will also rely on scorers like CJ Perez and Don Trollano.
Perez and Trollano have led the Beermen in past games with their averages of 21.27 points and 5.45 rebounds, and 13.27 points and 5.45 boards, respectively.
But Fajardo’s impact is also felt with his norms of 17.3 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists for 43.12 statistical points (SPs) in the race for the Best Player of the Conference, which he leads.
The SMB big man is in front of NLEX main man Robert Bolick, who normed 28.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 6.5 assists for 42.08 SPs.
Stephen Holt of Terrafirma Dyip is at no. 3 after amassing 40.8 SPs on the strength of 21.08 points, 8.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 2.4 steals.
“May mga iiskor at ako naman ay gagawa ng paraan para matulungan ko sila,” humbly said Fajardo on his role in the finals.
The Meralco Bolts, however, will have the manpower to deal with the San Miguel Beermen, who are known for their firepower.
And they will find out how well they can take on the Beermen once Game 1 gets under way.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen (in Game 1), but we know what San Miguel is about,” said Bolts’ coach Luigi Trillo.
