MANILA – San Miguel Beermen center June Mar Fajardo said staying composed has allowed them to clinch the 2023-2024 PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship at the expense of sister team, Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots.
According to the Pinamungahan, Cebu-native center, they showed their composure during their 104-102 Game 6 victory on Wednesday night in a game where they went down by as much as 13 points in the fourth quarter.
“Pinakita lang namin ang composure sa end game,” said Fajardo, the reigning PBA MVP winner. “Naghahabol kami buong game, tapos crucial ‘yung tira ni Chris Ross at ni CJ (Perez),”
Fajardo, who was playing hurt in the last three games in the best-of-seven finals, added that he urged his teammates to end the championship series in six games for them to be able to rest their injury.
“Kelangan talaga matapos ang game sa Game 6,” Fajardo said. “Alam namin pagod na pagod na kami, buti nakuha namin ang panalong ito. Bihira pa naman kami manalo sa Commissioner’s Cup.
Jaymar Perez, who was awarded the Finals MVP on top of his Best Player of the Conference citation, agreed with Fajardo that the Beermen pulled off the championship with composure.
“We stayed composed tapos sa defense talaga especially nung fourth quarter, dun kami nakabalik sa laro at nag-champion,” said Perez, who averaged 18 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 3.2 steals in the title series.
“I also want to give credit to (Beermen head) coach Jorge (Gallent) for lifting my confidence, especially sa conference na ito kaya mas maganda ‘yung naipakita ko,” he added.
The 2023-2024 PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown was the franchise’s 29th PBA championship overall, 19th in import-laden conference, and fifth in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The next focus for the Beermen is defending their crown in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup, which is tentatively schedule to start later this month./PN
