9th MVP plum beckons Fajardo

San Miguel Beer star center June Mar Fajardo could be well on his way to adding another feather on his already decorated cap.

Owner of a record eight Most Valuable Player awards, the 6-foot-10 behemoth is expected to cop his ninth at the start of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 on 5 October at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Fajardo had another superb outing in Season 49 and built a strong case for the highest individual award to be given in the Leo Awards scheduled before the opening day tipoff of the Philippine Cup.

The 35-year-old big man is ahead in the average statistical points (sps) collected during the previous three-conference season. He tallied 42.1 sps, more than six points ahead of his closest rival.

Fajardo is also projected to win by a landslide in votes cast by the PBA Press Corps and players.

“I’m not thinking about it, but it’s a great honor (to win MVP),” the pride of Cebu said when asked about another potential MVP award during the league’s Media Day at the Elements in Eton Centris in Quezon City.

“Who would’ve thought, I’m not really fond of basketball before but now if fate would have it, I’ll be a nine-time MVP,” he added.

“We really can’t say where life will take us. Now I’ve achieved a lot and have gone a long way in my basketball career.”

Fajardo was named Best Player of the Conference during the 2024-2025 Governors’ Cup and Philippine Cup — his 11th and 12th overall.

The 11-time PBA champion could’ve swept the recognition if not for the Beermen’s forgettable Commissioner’s Cup stint, where San Miguel fell short of a playoffs seat.

Fajardo is ahead of other MVP candidates Robert Bolick of NLEX (36.7 sps) and NorthPort’s Arvin Tolentino (35.3 sps), who beat the Beerman for the Commissioner’s Cup BPC.

Despite suffering a calf injury in the Philippine Cup semifinals, Fajardo led San Miguel back to the All-Filipino conference throne to end the season.

But while the Gilas Pilipinas member is grateful for the chance to get another top recognition, he is more concerned about keeping the Beermen on top.

He acknowledges that the opposition took advantage of the offseason to shore up their respective rosters to seize the crown off San Miguel’s head.

“The competition just got tougher because all teams have beefed up their rosters. We want to get stronger because we also have a goal: We want to remain as champions,” he said.