Mar 21, 2018

June Mar seeks revenge on Magnolia

June Mar Fajardo is determined to avenge a stinging setback from his rookie season when the San Miguel Beermen battle the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals which starts Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Forgotten in the five championships and four Most Valuable Player awards the 6-foot-10 man mountain won in his career was the failure to lead San Miguel to the title in the 2013 Governors' Cup Finals when the then-Petron Blaze Boosters fell to the Hotshots, who at the time were known as the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers.

Fajardo, sporting a blonde hair, was left helpless watching Gilas Pilipinas teammate Marc Pingris deliver an inspiring performance in the deciding seventh game of that series that lifted the Mixers to the title.

"Hindi ko talaga makakalimutan nung rookie year ko, Magnolia ang first championship heartbreak ko," said Fajardo. "Pinaiyak nila ako, binasag ko ang PC ko, rookie year ko. Ito na siguro yung time na makabawi ako.

"Kailangan ko mag-champion para makabili ako ng bagong PC," added Fajardo, who is fond of playing online games during his spare time.

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His goal to get even with the Hotshots will have to be done without Pingris after the veteran forward sustained an ACL injury in the semi-final series with the NLEX Road Warriors.

"Bago siya na-injured, nag-usap kami na sana kami mag-abot sa finals, kasi sisingilin ko pa siya sa utang niya," Fajardo said of his fellow online player Pingris. "Tumawa nga siya e, unfortunate lang na na-injured siya." (JT)