San Miguel Beer’s Fajardo bags PBA BPC plum

MANILA, Philippines – After a major breakthrough last season, San Miguel Beer behemoth Junemar Fajardo has continued his dominant showing and gained another reward Wednesday night in bagging the MyPhone PBA Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference award for the second straight year. 

Just like the last time, this pride of Pinamungahan, Cebu won the honors in runaway fashion, and became the first player to successfully defend the all-Filipino BPC award since Nelson Asaytono, also a Beermen, took it 1997 and 1998.

For the record, Eric Menk is the only other player who has got two BPC plums in the league’s premier tourney, snaring it in 1999 and 2005.

Eleven other players have become BPC for at least two conferences, and these were Danny Ildefonso (five), Mark Caguioa (three), Vergel Meneses (three), Alvin Patrimonio (three), Jerry Codinera (two), Kenneth Duremdes (two), Jayjay Helterbrand (two), Willie Miller (two), Arwind Santos (two), Danny Seigle (two) and Jay Washington (two).

Interestingly, five SMB players have emerged Philippine Cup BPC winners. These were Asaytono, Ildefonso (2001), Seigle (2006), Washington (2011) and Fajardo.

With his consistent overpowering performances from the elimination round through the semifinals, Fajardo easily beat out Calvin Abueva, Santos, Alex Cabagnot and Greg Slaughter for his second BPC award.

Topping the statistical points race and gaining the nod of sports media and his fellow players, Fajardo won the BPC race with 1,141 points, almost 300 ahead of Abueva.

Gaining the top vote of the PBA Commissioner’s Office and being the second choice of the press and the players, Abueva amassed 889 point.

Santos, Slaughter and Cabagnot placed third, fourth and fifth with 523, 392 and 390 points, respectively.

Through Game Three of the finals, Fajardo was leading the league in points (18.3), rebounds (12.5) and blocks (2.0) and was second behind Marc Pingris in minutes played (36.50).

He has become the face of the PBA from last season which he turned to a virtual “Junemar Fajardo show.”

During the 2014 Leo Awards, Fajardo was the hands-down choice as MVP, Most Improved Player and made both the Mythical First Team and the All-Defensive Team.

“He gained a lot playing Andray Blatche and Marcus Douthit with Gilas. He’s improved by leaps and bounds,” said newly appointed Gilas assistant coach Jimmy Alapag.

Fajardo is tipped to keep his spot in the national team to be handled by new head coach Tab Baldwin.

Among the highlights of his successful 2013-14 year was coming out of the shadow of Blatche to help the Nationals beat the Senegal side in the FIBA World Cup in Seville, Spain.

He’s gone a long way from being a fumbling baller who failed to make it past inter-division level in high school play in Cebu.