June Mar Fajardo believes that Justin Arana has what it takes to become an elite big man in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
Fajardo, an eight-time Most Valuable Player (MVP), had a closer look at Arana’s upside during San Miguel Beer’s 102-95 win over Converge in Game 1 of their Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal series late Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Although Fajardo registered 25 points and 16 rebounds to lead the Beermen to victory, the scrappy 6-foot-7 slotman from Arellano University still made life difficult for him.
“The kid has a lot of potential. He’s stronger and faster than me,” said Fajardo, admitting that dominating Arana wasn’t easy.
“I actually had a hard time against him.”
The 25-year-old Arana so far has been doing all the right things to get noticed in the PBA.
A two-time member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Defensive Team of the Year, Arana’s quickness and sturdiness inside the paint for the Chiefs convinced the FiberXers to tap him as fourth overall pick in the PBA Rookie Draft.
In the PBA, Arana further improved, thanks to FiberXers assistant coach and two-time PBA MVP Danny Ildefonso who guided him until he bagged the 2023 PBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 9.9 points and 7.5 rebounds.
Interestingly, it was also Ildefonso who mentored Fajardo when they were still with the Beermen from 2011 to 2013.