June Mar stays home, does his share

MANILA, Philippines — Six-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo is staying home in his condo unit, doing exercises and quietly supporting the doctors, nurses, medical staff and policemen who are sacrificing their lives to arrest the spread of the coronavirus.

Fajardo, 30, was awarded his sixth MVP trophy when the PBA opened its 45th season at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last March 8. He rolled onto the court to receive his award riding an electric scooter, still unable to walk after undergoing surgery to repair the fracture in his right tibia. Without a scooter, Fajardo walks around in crutches. The 6-10 center suffered the injury while elevating for a layup all alone during a practice game with San Miguel Beer last Feb. 4. The day after, he was operated on by Dr. George Canlas at St. Luke’s Global City and was fitted with four screws and a metal rod in his right leg.

Fajardo admitted collapsing on the court with a broken leg was traumatic and he couldn’t sleep for days because of it. But he never lost hope that someday, he’ll be able to play again. The thought of giving up the game never crossed his mind. He said he started feeling pain in his right shin in 2018 but played through it. Last season, Fajardo never missed a game in three PBA conferences and suited up for the national team in the FIBA windows, World Cup and Southeast Asian Games.

“Pag-angat ko for a layup, bigla akong bumagsak,” recalled Fajardo. “Parang yung nangyari kay Paul George pero mas malala ang kaniyang injury. Two broken bones siya, ako isa. Hindi nadurog ang buto ko. Naibalik ni Doc Canlas sa surgery.” At the moment, Fajardo does leg exercises 45 to 60 minutes a day, nothing weight-bearing. It’s to prepare him for gym therapy and strengthening next month.

Fajardo said he didn’t expect his sixth MVP award. “Medyo surprised ako,” he said. Fajardo took Best Player of the Conference honors in the Philippine Cup but TNT’s Jayson Castro won the honor in the Commissioner’s Cup and NorthPort’s Christian Standhardinger claimed the award in the Governors Cup. Fajardo, however, powered San Miguel Beer to the first and second conference titles. “Deserving rin sina Christian, C. J. (Perez) at Jayson,” he said. “Hindi ko makukuha yung award without teamwork. I thank God for the honor, my parents and family for their support, Boss RSA (San Miguel Corp. president Ramon S. Ang), my coaches, teammates, ball boys and the fans. This honor is for them.”

Fajardo’s parents, who live in Cebu, flew to Manila to witness the awarding. They’re now back home. Every day, Fajardo calls them on the phone to check how things are. He said he’s doing his share to support the frontliners in the battle against the coronavirus but prefers to keep his contributions private. Fajardo applauded the efforts of his fellow PBA players, coaches and team officials to back the frontliners. “Let’s follow the government’s order for a lockdown,” he said. “This is for all of us, for our safety to stop the virus from spreading. Let’s stay home to stay safe.”