San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo during the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Game 4 against Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—In Games 2 and 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, June Mar Fajardo was coming off the bench for San Miguel Beer as a precautionary measure.
On Wednesday, however, Fajardo returned to the Beermen’s starting lineup, and it worked to perfection as they evened the semis series at 2-2 after a 107-82 Game 4 win over Barangay Ginebra.
LIVE: 2025 PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals – Game 4 – July 2
San Miguel Beer and coach Leo Austria had their longest stretch of rest days to thank for the reigning MVP’s return as a starter.
“It [three-day break] was very important for us. June Mar was able to recover. In practice during the last two days, he was just watching because we don’t want him to aggravate his calf,” said Austria at Mall of Asia Arena on Wednesday.
San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo during the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Game 4 against Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
“He’s on his way to a hundred percent but psychologically, he isn’t there yet. This game, though, gives us a lot of confidence. The last two days were really important for us, we didn’t have much hard practice, we had more of a viewing.”
READ: PBA: San Miguel drubs Ginebra to tie semifinals series at 2-2
In Fajardo’s first game as a starter since Game 1 of the semifinals, the PBA 50 Greatest Players member snagged a double-double of 12 points and 19 rebounds.
This, after he scored a double-double of 12 points and 14 rebounds off the bench despite their Game 3 loss last Sunday.
Fajardo aggravated his calf during Game 1 of the best-of-seven affair, which prompted him to play off the bench and have his minutes managed for the next two games.
With a possibility of going down 3-1 on the line, the Beermen certainly needed Fajardo in full force.
“It’s hard to be down 3-1 so our coaches told us to raise the intensity and execute our plays,” said Fajardo. “We needed to do those things tonight and fortunately, we were able to do it,” he added.
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The Beermen look to have a more healthy Fajardo in Game 5 for a 3-2 lead this Friday at Araneta Coliseum.