Who can stop June Mar?

San Miguel Beer star June Mar Fajardo’s court smarts are on a different level in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup playoffs.

Acknowledging that opponents will be throwing much of their defense on him to prevent him from imposing his will inside the painted area, the 6-foot-10 center has been working extra effort on his court vision to play facilitator.

This facet of his game has disrupted the defensive game plan of the defending champions’ rivals as the Beermen inched closer to booking a championship berth.

Fajardo dishing out passes to his San Miguel teammates makes life difficult for Rain or Shine in their best-of-seven semifinals series.

In fact, the strategy of having Fajardo reserve his explosive offense when the Elasto Painters’ defense “softened up” with other Beermen piling up points off his dimes has been effective so far.

San Miguel now holds a commanding 2-0 series lead and the odds are in its favor as it shoots for a third straight win today at the Dasmariñas Arena in Cavite.

The seven-time Most Valuable Player doesn’t mind being quiet in the first half.

Fajardo went scoreless in the first quarter of Game 2 and only had four entering halftime. Then, he poured 18 in the third quarter when the Beermen pulled away to control the game on their way to a blowout.

“I need to play a pass-first game to establish my teammates. The defense was tight (in the first half) so I needed to find my open teammates like Marcio (Lassiter), Chris (Ross) and our other three-point shooters,” Fajardo said.

“Once they got their shooting going, it eased the defensive pressure on me.”

Fajardo is averaging a double-double in the semis with 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds but what is even more impressive is his 4.5 assists per game in the series.

Beermen coach Jorge Gallent has expressed delight about not only having a dominant player at the post but also a good passer that gets his teammates involved.

“We’re looking at where the double-team is coming from. So, I told June Mar if the double team comes early he has to pass the ball,” Gallent said.

“But if the double team doesn’t come, he has to grind himself in. I feel that no one can stop him when he’s inside the paint. That’s what he did in the third quarter. We were reading the defense of Rain or Shine.”

With another finals appearance within reach, expect San Miguel to again turn to Fajardo as a focal point on offense.

And Fajardo is sure to display his all-around game.

“As long as we share the ball and get high numbers of assists it gives us an even higher percentage of winning,” Fajardo said.