Healthy Fajardo to get more minutes

San Miguel Beer head coach Leo Austria looks to ramp up June Mar Fajardo’s playing time as the star center showed good signs of quick recovery from a calf injury heading into the crucial stretch of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals series against Barangay Ginebra.

The 6-foot-10 behemoth logged 32 minutes in his first start since sustaining a slight tear on his right calf in the best-of-seven opener in a 107-82 rebound win in Game 4 that leveled the Final Four showdown to 2-2 Wednesday evening.

Fajardo displayed better footwork compared to the last two outings, where he came off the bench. His minutes increased from 27 in Game 3 and just 17 in Game 2.

The eight-time Most Valuable Player is confident he’s nearing his old, dangerous form, a welcome development as the Beermen shoot to take their first series lead today at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I’m already there,” Fajardo said when asked about his health status.

Fajardo posted 12 points and 19 rebounds while filling the other stats boxes with three assists, two steals and one block.

“He’s maybe 75 percent (healthy),” Austria quipped in his assessment of his big man.

The mentor shared that Fajardo himself asked to return to his starting job.

“Every game, I’m always asking him: ‘What do you think? Are you going to start or not?’ But because of our frustrating Game 3, he made up his mind and said, ‘okay, I think I have to start,’” Austria said.

“But by saying that, I’m confident that he’s feeling well. We saw earlier that he’s playing differently. His focus is on the game, unlike before where there are things beyond our control. It’s frustrating.”

“But tonight, I think he’s focused on his game. He’s not forcing his shots and has lots of assists.”

Fajardo had plenty of help with CJ Perez, Juami Tiongson, Jericho Cruz, Rodney Brondial and Don Trollano all scoring in double figures.

“Everyone coach fielded stepped up. Our preparation for the past two days was good. And we need to win this game because it’s hard to go down, 3-1,” Fajardo said.