News: June Mar Nearing SMB Pantheon Of Legends With Guidance From Predecessors Fernandez, Ildefonso The San Miguel franchise has seen some of the greatest big men to ever lace them up in the PBA enjoy plenty of success within their ranks. Ramon Fernandez, a four-time PBA MVP (once as a Beerman) and 19-time PBA champion, and Danny Ildefonso, a two-time MVP with San Miguel and a multiple-time champion as well, are among the PBA’s 40 Greatest Players honored by the league. Now, reigning PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo is close to cementing his place in the pantheon of legendary San Miguel big men but though he has the individual hardware to qualify, he still lacks the PBA title to ensure his entry in the elite group. Fajardo knows that the earlier generations – Fernandez and Ildefonso – are rooting for him to get there as they’ve both offered some guidance to him along the way. “Lahat naman tayo binibigyan naman ni God ng mag-ga-guide sa atin. Nasa sa atin lang kung makikinig ba tayo sa kanila,” Fajardo told InterAksyon in an exclusive interview. He shared the contributions that both of the San Miguel legends have made in his development as a player from the early days in Cebu all the way to the professional ranks. In Fajardo’s collegiate days in the CESAFI league, it was his fellow Cebuano, Fernandez, who was one of his early mentors. “Binibigyan niya ako ng advice. Best friend kasi yan ng manager ko,” the 6-foot-10 center shared. As a rookie in the PBA, it was then ‘Lakay’ who guided him in his adjustment to the big leagues. The Pride of Pangasinan, Ildefonso, worked out extensively with the freshman in his first year and even made the prediction that Fajardo would win the MVP award within two years – something that ‘Abai’ proved right last season, his second in the PBA. “Alam naman natin na si Kuya DI, maganda yung intention nila sa akin. TInururuan nila ako, so nakikinig lang ako sa kanila,” Fajardo said. “Tama naman yung itinuturo nila sa akin, nagagamit ko sa game. Nagpapasalamat ako sa mga taong tumulong sa akin since nagsimula akong mag-basketball from UC hanggang umabot na ako sa pro. Kung hindi dahil sa kanila wala ako dito.” But while ‘The Kraken’ has undoubtedly become the PBA’s dominant force today, he still has plenty of history to make if he is to join the likes of Fernandez and Ildefonso in San Miguel’s pantheon of legends. Fernandez helped the team win a historic Grand Slam in 1989 as part of his seven titles with the Beermen while Ildefonso’s Beermen won five titles in six conferences around the time of his back-to-back MVP campaigns. Fajardo, who is only on his third season, has yet to win a title but could take that all-important first step on Sunday, where his Beermen can clinch the Philippine Cup title with a victory over Alaska in Game Six. Original Link: interaksyon/interaktv/june-mar-nearing-smb-pantheon-of-legends-with-guidance-from-predecessors-fernandez-ildefonso
Posted on: Sat, 17 Jan 2015 05:03:38 +0000
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