By REYNALD MAGALLON
The Ramon Fernandez Finals MVP award surely won’t just be placed at the top of June Mar Fajardo’s trophy cabinet but also the one that should be the closest to his heart.
The 6-foot-10 center, who won a record-setting fifth Finals MVP plum after San Miguel finished off TNT, 92-77 in Game 6, was the first recipient of the newly crafted trophy design and named after fellow Cebuano great and former mentor Ramon Fernandez.
And it was only sweeter for Fajardo, that Fernandez, himself, announced and awarded him with the trophy at the center court and in front of the fans of San Miguel — the same franchise where the PBA great won his Grand Slam in 1989.
“Isang karangalan na makakuha ng championship, ng finals mvp. Si Don Ramon pa yung nag abot ng Finals MVP and sa kaniya pa ito nakapangalan,” said Fajardo after putting up 19.7 points, 18.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.9 blocks in the Finals.
It wasn’t a secret that the pride of Pinamungajan, Cebu was a pupil of Fernandez and he was vocal in crediting him for the type of player that he has become.
Same way, Fernandez, a four-time MVP himself, has long expressed how proud he is to see Fajardo dominate the PBA
“Isang karangalan for sure nasa taas ng trophy case ko,” added Fajardo.
Of course, the ever humble giant that he is, Fajardo was quick to deflect the credits to his teammates.
“Salamat sa mga teammates ko kasi hindi ko rin naman makukuhat ito kung hindi dahil sa kanila,” said Fajardo during his acceptance speech.
And in return, Fajardo also made sure that his team would celebrate the title at the end of the buzzer.
“Kailangan manalo eh. Kailangang idiin kasi nakita ko yung mga teammates ko kung gaano sila kapurisigido na manalo so syempre isa ako sa mga leader ng team,” he stressed.
He finished with a double-double in all of the six games and capped it off with a conference-best 29 points to go with 23 rebounds.
Putting the cherry on top to the monster performance, Fajardo’s 18th rebound in the contest also allowed him to surpass Jerry Condinera as the third player with most total rebounds in PBA history.
He’s also now the player with the most Finals MVP trophy with five, breaking the tie with James Yap, LA Tenorio and another SMB great, Danny Seigle.
