June Mar Fajardo was a wrecking ball, laying waste to whoever the TNT Tropang 5G had to defend against the San Miguel Beer behemoth in Game 3 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) finals.
It was child’s play for the 6-foot-10 Beermen center when he bulldozed his way to 33 points in a 108-88 blowout of the Tropang 5G Friday for a 2-1 best-of-seven series lead.
Fajardo and San Miguel could extend their lead in the all-Filipino showdown today at the Mall of Asia Arena in Game 4 and jeopardize TNT’s grand slam bid.
Unless TNT could summon a miracle to get big man Poy Erram back in form after suffering an ankle injury to put an extra body to slow down, at least, if not stop a speeding freight train in Fajardo, the Beermen could be well on their way to returning to the Philippine Cup throne after losing the crown last year.
But Erram suiting up for the pivotal match at the Mall of Asia Arena is bleak.
“I doubt it. I can’t play yet. Unless we can do magic maybe (I could return). But I just can’t. It hurts still,” Erram said as he left the venue after Game 3 wearing a boot to protect his injured right ankle.
The 6-foot-8 center tweaked his ankle following an awkward landing early in the third quarter of TNT’s 92-98 loss in Game 2 last Wednesday. He was done for the game after being helped off the court.
“There’s a torn ligament in my ankle. I have to wear a boot because it’s painful when I put weight on it. It’s difficult to step so, it needs support,” Erram added.
He skipped the next match and watched helplessly on the sidelines as Fajardo dropped his biggest offensive output in the playoffs of the season-ending conference.
Fajardo, an eight-time Most Valuable Player and expected to bag a 12th Best Player of the Conference award, made a killing underneath or near the basket with 12-of-15 field goal shooting in San Miguel’s second straight win.
Veteran Kelly Williams, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and even young blood Henry Galinato could only do so much against Fajardo.
Ganuelas-Rosser was bothered by fouls while trying to contain the San Miguel star. Fajardo picked on Galinato at the post with the Tropang 5G backup big man stumbling after banging bodies in one play.
Fajardo’s power and energy were just too much for Williams, who at age 43 is sacrificing his body on defense.
Although Erram’s presence is not an assurance of stopping Fajardo, he could be a big help in making the Beermen go-to guy work harder for his production.
But Erram doesn’t know the timetable of his return.
“I don’t think I’d be back anytime soon,” he said.
That’s bad news.