June Mar Fajardo became the latest addition to San Miguel Beer’s growing list of injured players in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup of the Philippine Basketball Association.
Beermen team manager Gee Abanilla made the confirmation to Daily Tribune, saying that the seven-time Most Valuable Player will be out for four to six weeks after suffering a fractured metacarpal in their 115-110 win over Rain or Shine last Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“He’ll be out four to six weeks, but the good news is, he doesn’t have to undergo surgery,” Abanilla said in a telephone conversation.
Injury bug has been hampering the Beermen.
Aside from Fajardo, also in sickbay are Terrence Romeo, Jeron Teng, Kyt Jimenez and Vic Manuel while Jericho Cruz and Marcio Lassiter are not yet in perfect shape.
Romeo played their first two games before sitting out with a bruised shin while newcomers Teng and Jimenez are being bothered by hamstring injury and fractured eye socket, respectively.
Manuel, for his part, underwent surgery to repair a tear on his left knee while Cruz and Lassiter played in their previous game but are still recovering from their respective injuries.
Beermen coach Jorge Gallent said Fajardo is having difficulty moving his left hand following their game against the Elasto Painters.
“June Mar can’t move his right hand,” Gallent said, referring to Fajardo, who fired 16 points in their previous game.
Gallent added that he is proud of how other players like CJ Perez, Chris Ross, Lassiter and import Ivan Aska have stepped up despite their growing list of casualties.
Against the Elasto Painters, Aska fired 28 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three blocks while Lassiter added 23 markers to put the Beermen to a tie with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Meralco for the third to fifth places with 3-1 win-loss record.
Save for Fajardo and Manuel, Gallent believes that they will be back in full strength in two weeks.
“I think two more weeks, they’re ready,” Gallent said.
