How do you stay motivated if you’re June Mar Fajardo, nine-time PBA MVP and the most dominant player the league has ever seen?
Moments before the winner of the PBA’s Season 49 Most Valuable Player was announced on Sunday at a hotel ballroom in Quezon City, a small crowd began to gather near the table where June Mar Fajardo was seated.
The crowd had brought out their camera phones and readied to record the historic moment that was about to come. Even though the voting had been kept under wraps, everyone in the room knew the inevitable was about to happen.
For the ninth time in PBA history, Fajardo was named league MVP – an insane record in any league, in any sport.
The voting wasn’t even close. When everything had been tallied – statistics, media votes and player votes – Fajardo was the runaway winner with 3,041 points, over 1,200 points ahead of his closest pursuer, NLEX Road Warriors guard Robert Bolick.
Fajardo’s combination of size, skill sets and work ethic, plus the sustained success of his team the San Miguel Beermen, have made it difficult for anyone to seriously challenge his seat atop the PBA mountain.
There was a brief period over two years when Abai was sidelined and was struggling to come back from a terrible leg injury when Scottie Thompson managed to grab one MVP in 2021 (individual awards weren’t given out during 2020 bubble season), but ever since the 2013-14 season, whenever Fajardo is healthy he has been virtually untouchable.
Comeback Kid
There were very serious and valid doubts about whether JMF would be able regain his old form after he fractured his tibia in January 2020. Even he wasn’t sure.
“Nung na-injured ako, nung nabali yung tibia ko, maraming nagsabi na wala na, hindi na ako makakabalik sa PBA,” he said. “Kahit nga ako nag-cross din sa isip ko na baka hindi na talaga ako makakabalik.
“Pero, ginawa ko yung therapy ko religiously. Kasi pag mag-give up ako, by default, talo na ako, diba? So, what if kung bigyan ko ng chance yung sarili ko, what if gawin ko yung mga exercises, mga therapies, mga rehab ko religiously, baka magbago yung takbo na baka makabalik ako.”
Fajardo did return, although he took it slow in his first full season back, paving the way for Thompson’s MVP season. But once he was at full strength, there was no stopping him. In fact, only another serious injury stands in the way of more trophies for the Cebu native.
“Injury talaga yung pinakakalaban. Kahit gaano ka magpakondisyon, pag nangyari yung injury, hindi mo maiwasan. Pero yun nga, nakabalik ako. And then, nanalo ako ng MVP. De-depend talaga sa sarili ko. Hindi ako nag-give up. Kung nag-give up ako, sana wala na ako. Thankful talaga. Thank God talaga lahat kung anong meron ako ngayon.”
Chasing Don Ramon
What else is there to aim for if you’ve been named MVP nine times and won 11 PBA titles?
“More championships pa,” was Fajardo’s answer. “Lahat naman ng players, yung goal yung championships. Yan din yung goal ko. Sana maraming championships darating bago mag-retire.”
Given San Miguel’s status as a perennial championship favorite, a few more championships are certainly in the realm of possibility. But a tenth MVP has a nice ring to it as well.
“Hindi ko iniisip yun,” Fajardo said about a possible MVP no. 10. “Game by game. One game at a time. One conference at a time. Hindi ako nag-iisip na yung goal ko mag-10. Pero kung darating yun, darating yun. Hindi yun yung goal ko. Kasi pag yun yung goal ko, di ko naisipin yung mga things ko. Baka sarili ko yung isipin ko. Baka mag-buwakaw na ako.”
One spectator in the crowd was Ramon Fernandez, the four-time MVP and PBA legend against whom Fajardo is often measured. The two have a good relationship, dating back to when Fernandez first met Fajardo when the latter was still a gangling teenager.
Fajardo has always been respectful towards Fernandez, and the two even acknowledged each other at the awards ceremony.
“Isang karangalan,” Fajardo answered when asked what it meant to be given his ninth MVP in the presence of so many PBA lagends. “Kasi sila yung nag-set ng standard. Si Sir Mon (Fernandez), si Sir Alvin (Patrimonio). Sila yung nag-set ng standard sa PBA.
“Yung mga awards. Yung MVPs. Sila yung nag-set ng standard. Nagkasunod lang kami. Kung pwede, itaas pa namin yung bar sa PBA para sa next generation.”
While Fajardo has already more than doubled the MVP count of Fernandez, he still trails El Presidente in titles won, 19 to 11. He’s already 35, so he’ll need a combination of luck and continued domination to surpass his idol and stake his claim to being the greatest PBA player ever.
When asked about the possibility of June Mar Fajardo surpassing his championship count, Fernandez gave a surprising answer.
“Well, I hope he does,” he said. “I hope he makes it. Coming from Cebu, the Cebu product of the Cebu League also, we’re all proud of him.”
Banner Images by Ed Simon/KLIQ, Inc.