June Mar Fajardo admits Meralco bigs making life hard for him in PBA Finals

The ongoing PBA Philippine Cup Finals between San Miguel and Meralco is showing so far that June Mar Fajardo is human after all.

The seven-time MVP admitted that his matchup against a loaded Bolts frontcourt has been pushing him hard, something he had predicted even before the best-of-seven series started.

"Maganda ‘yung depensa nila. Sobrang dami nilang bigs eh tapos mabilis ‘yung rotation nila so nakakapagod din," Fajardo said on Sunday following their 93-89 Game 3 loss to Meralco.

"Marami kaming shots na namintis na dapat na-shoot namin tapos marami rin silang offensive rebounds, ayon ‘yung pinoint out ni coach kanina. Dapat ma-improve namin ‘yun."

[They play good defense. They have a lot of bigs and they rotate really fast so it's tiring. We missed a lot of shots that we should've made. And they grabbed a lot of offensive rebounds. That's what coach pointed out earlier. We need to improve on that.]

Making life tough for the 6-foot-10 Fajardo is the Meralco quintet made up of veterans Raymond Almazan and Cliff Hodge, rookie Brandon Bates, and role players Toto Jose and Norbert Torres, who all have focused on limiting the reigning MVP.

With a deep rotation of bigs, the Bolts have been able to contain Fajardo so far in the series.

Though Fajardo's total series numbers of 17.3 points, 12.67 rebounds, two dimes, and three blocks remain on par with his averages at the end of the semifinal round, which stood at 17.3 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, the Meralco crew has made it difficult for him, particularly in Game 3.

He was held to a season-low in field goal attempts, going just 2-for-5, though he did finish with 12 points thanks to his work from the free throw line. Fajardo was also forced to a season-high seven turnovers.

More importantly, Meralco came away with the crucial win to take a 2-1 series lead.

"Sabi nga ni Coach, hindi namin nalaro ‘yung San Miguel basketball and kailangan pa namin ng extra passes so ayon ‘yung pinoint out ni coach after the game. Ayun, bawi na lang kaming next game," he added.

[Like Coach said, we weren't able to play San Miguel basketball and we still need to make extra passes so that's what he pointed out after the game. We'll bounce back next game.]

—JMB, GMA Integrated News