JUNE Mar Fajardo is back.
He's back playing starting role, playing long minutes and delivering double-double numbers.
He's also back on track to contending for the top individual honors.
And needless to say, with his old presence and the impact it brings, JMF has restored the big advantage for the San Miguel Beermen going to the closing stage of their PBA Philippine Cup Final Four face-off with the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
"Wala ng injury," said JMF on what he feels or what he conditions his mind as they battle the Gin Kings in a series that is now down to race to two.
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The Kraken and his teammates ride the momentum of a 107-82 rout in Game Four as they slug it out with the Kings for the pivotal 3-2 series lead at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday.
For the Kings, a comforting thought is that it's a tied series and no one has really got a foothold in the dispute for a place in the finals versus the winner in the other series pitting TNT Tropang 5G and Rain or Shine.
Coach Tim Cone's troops were very much in the fight in Game Four, in fact leading at the half, 51-50, before conking out and giving way to SMB's mammoth 30-12 tear in the third period.
For that series-tying win, SMB coach Leo Austria made special mention of Fajardo's return and the effort the whole team put up to stop what the Gin Kings love to do.
But, of course, the Beermen levelled up on offense and defense with Fajardo being there on the floor for longer minutes than he's there in the previous two games.
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"Because of the frustrating result of Game 3, he (JMF) made up his mind na okay, kailangan ko mag-start. And that gave me confidence that he's feeling well. Makikita naman natin ibang-iba 'yung laro niya, 'yung focus niya sa game," said the SMB mentor.
Fajardo joined forces with CJ Perez, Juami Tiongson and Rodney Brondial in a telling 17-0 salvo in the third canto that broke the game apart, 73-58.
"I can see from the body language of the players na talagang this team will really play (Wednesday) tonight and it's very evident, ibang 'yung different energy at concentration (compared to Game 3)," said Austria.
They took the game and avoided getting buried to a 1-3 hole. And now, the Beermen face the Gin Kings in an exciting 2-2 tiebreaker.(SB)
