With June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo back in action, San Miguel Beer now has the luxury to parade its entire roster entering the crucial stretch of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup.
And this is definitely bad news for the rest of the field.
Magnolia head coach Chito Victolero yesterday said the return of Fajardo — the league’s six-time Most Valuable Player awardee — makes the Beermen “scary” as the jockeying for playoff positions heats up.
Right now, the Beermen are at the sixth spot with a 5-5 win-loss record.
“Each time you see June Mar back on the hard court, San Miguel will always be scary,” said Victolero, whose wards carry the second-best record in the import-laced tournament with an 8-2 mark.
“We’ve seen the impact of June Mar’s return when he led San Miguel back to the championship. He’s big and strong.”
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao agrees, saying that the Beermen now enjoy the luxury of having an “instant production” now that the 6-foot-10 Fajardo is patrolling the shaded lanes.
“San Miguel is always scary. I haven’t seen a San Miguel team getting weaker or lacking in talent through the years, all the more with June Mar back in action,” Guiao said.
“June Mar’s production is instant. No transition needed for him so we saw the result of his return immediately.”
Fajardo picked up where he left off after sitting out for more than a month to undergo throat surgery.
In their 131-103 win over Terrafirma, Fajardo pumped in 20 points on a sizzling 7-of-11 field goal shooting with nine rebounds, proving that he remains as the Beermen’s go-to-guy.
Romeo, for his part, was already cleared to return from a back injury but opted not to suit up as he is still trying to regain his timing. He is set to play when San Miguel faces TNT Tropang Giga on Saturday.
But prior to being sidelined, Romeo averaged 16.7 points on 43.8 percent shooting from the field with 3.7 assists per game in the Philippine Cup last year.
In the Governors’ Cup, he averaged 12.7 points and 3.9 assists per game.
San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla confirmed to Daily Tribune that Romeo was good to go, but opted to sit on the bench to make sure that he is ready to return to action.
“We were teasing him, if he wants to play. Even assistant coach George Gallent asked if he wanted to give it a try since the game has been practically decided,” Abanilla said in a telephone conversation, downplaying reports that Romeo refused to play.
“Of course, we understood that Terrence still wants to get his timing back and wants to play in good rhythm. But it’s not true that he refused to play. He suited up, joined the warm up, but was yet satisfied with his timing, so he requested if it’s okay he’ll play in the next game instead.”
