JuneMar in no-win situation

For nearly two months, the PBA’s reigning back-to-back MVP JuneMar Fajardo lived like a recluse in Cebu and avoided media last summer because he felt misunderstood by the public in declining to play for Gilas at the recent FIBA Asia Championships in Changsha.

Fajardo, who turns 26 on Nov. 17, said he was in a no-win situation. “Of course, I wanted to play for Gilas,” said the 6-10 San Miguel Beer center in Pilipino the other day. “I will do anything for our country. But I was in pain. It was no joke. I couldn’t walk straight. I didn’t want to force it. Why would I travel with the team? I didn’t want people to think I was just going on vacation. I would rather give up my slot for somebody else who’s healthy and can contribute to the team. Some people doubted my sincerity. They thought I just didn’t want to play for Gilas. It was unfair. I got calls from media but I decided to just stay away in Cebu. I was confused. I couldn’t understand why some people didn’t believe me. Not playing for Gilas was a hard decision to make but I didn’t want to be embarrassed by joining the team and not being able to play because of my injury.”

Slowed down by bilateral plantar fasciitis, Fajardo was in a damned if you-damned if you don’t crisis. According to world-renowned stretch and flexibility coach Brad Walker, the injury is extremely painful and disabling and often stubbornly resistant to treatment as rehabilitation is a lengthy and frustrating process. Plantar fasciitis is a condition where the thick fibrous tissue running along the sole of the foot is inflamed. In Fajardo’s case, his feet grew under stress because in his younger days, he couldn’t find the right size of shoes to fit so he would jam his feet in, creating strain on his plantar fascia. Constant pounding of the feet playing basketball led to the inflammation.

Fajardo said there is a surgical remedy to his problem but turned it down. The interventional procedure involves cutting the inflamed tissue in the sole of the foot and reattaching it for restrengthening. Fajardo said the operation would take months of recovery and therapy. He chose to rest his feet and undergo rehab once or twice a week during the summer. Now, Fajardo is about 70 percent of capacity. San Miguel Beer will make its season debut against Globalport in Davao City on Saturday and Fajardo said he hopes to play even limited minutes.

San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria said he’s not rushing Fajardo to play. Fajardo sat out three preseason games as Austria avoided pushing him. “JuneMar is not yet in top shape,” said Austria. “I’ll manage his minutes, maybe, six in the first quarter then five in the second, six in the third and five in the fourth. He played in our first preseason game against NLEX and we won by eight. Then, he didn’t play against Alaska, Star and Mahindra. We beat Alaska without JuneMar and Marcio (Lassiter) who was out with a hamstring injury. Alaska was without the Gilas players Calvin (Abueva), Dondon (Hontiveros) and Sonny (Thoss). We played Star to a tie then lost to Mahindra whose players are in great shape. JuneMar was back for Ginebra but we lost by 11. L. A. (Tenorio) was solid with his outside shooting and Japeth (Aguilar), Sol (Mercado) and Greg (Slaughter) played well, too. We did running at the oval once but JuneMar’s left foot hurt again so we cancelled it.”

Austria said gradually, Fajardo will be back in 100 percent condition. When San Miguel opens the season against Globalport, Austria said Fajardo will be 75 to 80 percent. “I remember when JuneMar reported for the first day of practice, he was 25 pounds overweight,” said Austria. “But in 1 1/2 months, he worked hard to get in shape and now he’s just seven pounds over. It was tough on JuneMar to decline playing for Gilas. We talked about it for a long time. He wanted to play so badly but didn’t want to be a burden on the team. He just couldn’t play because of the pain. He’s a good guy, very humble, very unassuming. He didn’t want to take a free ride without playing.”

Fajardo said he watched every Gilas game in Changsha on TV. “What we lacked was chemistry because of the short training period but everyone played well, especially Jayson (Castro) and Terrence (Romeo),” he said. “China’s team was really tall but we could’ve won the final. Yi (Jianlian) is a very good player but we limited him.”

For the Olympic qualifying tournament in July, Fajardo said he hopes to rejoin Gilas. “We still have a chance to make it to the Olympics,” he said. “I’m praying that I’ll be totally ready to play and contribute. Coach Tab (Baldwin) knows the international game very well so I’m confident.”

Regarding the new PBA season, Fajardo said he’s not thinking of a Grand Slam or a third straight MVP award. San Miguel Beer missed nailing a Grand Slam by a conference last season. “It’s one conference at a time but I know winning a Grand Slam is not impossible,” he said. “Every team has gotten stronger so we have to be prepared. We’re shooting for the All-Filipino championship first. The MVP is not on my mind. I play for our team, not for individual honors. The championship is our goal. It won’t be easy. Health is always a concern and sometimes, it’s not within our control. We just have to be ready and play with confidence. We have to trust each other in the team.”

Fajardo said he’s excited about San Miguel Beer’s new recruits Ryan Araña from Rain Or Shine and Brian Heruela from Blackwater. Fajardo and Heruela were University of Cebu varsity teammates in the Cebu collegiate league. “I think both will be a big help to us,” said Fajardo. “They’re in excellent condition. They’re adjusting to their roles and learning our plays.  We’ve become a better team with them.”