June Mar Fajardo is expected to hoist his seventh Most Valuable Player trophy today and the San Miguel slotman was quick to pay homage to the few individuals who made it all happen.
Unless the script gets junked at the last minute, Fajardo said on the eve of the opening of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup that his team of doctors and his late mother were instrumental in his success.
“If ever it (MVP award) will be given to me, I could only be proud of myself, but I would like to thank the doctors who took care of me in fast-tracking my rehab from the injures I suffered last season,” the 6-feet-10 Cebuano said.
He also made special mention of her mother Marites, who passed away in August 2021.
“Everything that I achieved and will achieve in the future are all for her,” Fajardo said. “I’m sure, she’s proud of me so I will continue doing all the good things to make her proud wherever she is now.”
The formal handover of the coveted trophy takes place during the Leo Prieto Awards with Fajardo as favorite to win the accolade as he has accumulated 42.2 statistical points.
A far second is teammate CJ Perez, who totes a 36.1. Third and fourth respectively on the list is the Barangay Ginebra duo of Scottie Thompson (35.5) and Christian Standhardinger (33.6).
Fajardo’s advantage stems from his winning the Best Player of the Conference of the Philippine Cup and the Beermen’s triumph in the said conference.
The past season was challenging for Fajardo, who suffered a throat injury in the previous Commissioner’s Cup.
His woes didn’t end there as Fajard, 33, hurt his knee while positioning for a rebound play with Jack Cooley of Ryukyu in the East Asia Super League during the summer, preventing him from taking part in the Cambodia Southeast Asian Games.
