Cebuano big man June Mar Fajardo bagged his sixth Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup All-Filipino Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award before leading the San Miguel Beermen to tie the best-of-seven finals series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday, May 8.
The six-foot-eleven center totalled 1,165 points, topping the categories with 460 statistical points, 484 media votes, 71 players votes, and 150 votes from the PBA office.
In reaction to obtaining another BPC award, Fajardo shared, “I’m just blessed to be surrounded by people who continue to guide me. And for these awards, I don’t think about them and all the championships I’ve won. I just keep them within my heart, but I don’t let them get into my head,” adding, “Teams study me all the time and throw all kinds of schemes on me to try to stop or contain me, so I also have to improve, work hard and find ways how to counter them. So every time I enter the court, my mindset is as if I’ve not won a championships, a Best Player award or an MVP.”
On the same day, the 29-year-old awardee saw 32 minutes of action against the Magnolia Hotshots for Game Four of the Finals, finishing as Player of the Game with 31 points and 14 rebounds.
Breaking the record as the player with the most number of conference awards, Fajardo bested out Sean Anthony from NorthPort Batang Pier, Roger Pogoy from Talk N’ Text Katropa, Mo Tautua also from NorthPort, and Stanley Pringle from GlobalPort.
Besides six Best Player of the Conference awards, Fajardo has also gotten five Mythical Five Team citations, seven All-Star Games appearances, and four PBA All-Defensive team awards. He now has his sights set on another Most Valuable Player title to his collection with his team fighting for the top crown in the Philippine Cup championship.