By REYNALD MAGALLON
June Mar Fajardo is hoping to play through the knee injury he sustained in Game 5 as San Miguel tries to go for the clincher on Sunday, Feb. 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The 6-foot-10 center hurt his knee after tripping over teammate Rodney Brondial and hitting it as he fell to the floor at the 6:23 mark of the third quarter.
Although he had to be helped off the floor, Fajardo managed to return to the contest and finish the game for the Beermen.
“Gusto rin i-try ng PT para matingnan kung kaya ko maglaro. Sa tingin ko, kaya naman. Pahinga lang siguro, tapos therapy lang ako,” said Fajardo who finished the game with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double in the Finals.
“I-aassess pa ako bukas,so titingnan. Pero hopefully hindi mamaga. Kaya naman siguro (maglaro),” he added.
SMB head coach Leo Austria, however, said the team will take a cautious approach on Fajardo’s injury.
“We cannot gamble on his health. Dahil I don’t care kung matalo kami o manalo. Basta ang health ng mga players ay kailangan.Yan ang binibigyan namin ng pansin,” Austria said of Fajardo.
“Pero kanina, nung tumingin ako sa kanya, sabi niya okay siya. So we tried. Nakatakbo pa rin siya kahit papaano. Naka rebound. But he’s not 100%,” he added.
