JUNE MAR Fajardo said San Miguel won’t go down without a fight, as the Beermen look to forge a Game Seven with a win on Sunday in the PBA Philippine Cup finals against Meralco.

The newly-minted Best Player of the Conference said that even if the defending champions are down 3-2, the series isn’t over yet. Even more, he vowed that he and his teammates will do their all, as their campaign hangs in the balance in Game Six at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Bawi na lang next game,” said Fajardo after Game Five. “Sabi nga namin, long series ito. Hindi pa naman kami out. ‘Yun ang kagandahan nun. May chance kami na makabawi. Babawi kami next game.”

“Pagsisipagan namin sa next game kasi gusto namin makuha ‘yung championship. Hindi namin basta-basta ibibigay ‘yun.”

The seven-time MVP posted huge numbers last Friday with 38 points and 18 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as San Miguel fell to the Bolts, 92-88, moving it one defeat away from being dethroned in the All-Filipino conference.

After Game Three where he was limited to only five attempts and 12 points, Fajardo was back to his old self offensively and pur the Bolts’ bigs through the wringer, as he is averaging 33 points, while also grabbing 15.5 rebounds over the past two matches.

CJ Perez off target in Game 5

While the ‘Kraken’ shot an efficient 14-of-17 from the field, a few of his teammates struggled hitting their shots, including CJ Perez who hit just nine percent (1-of-11) from two-point range even as he wound up with 17 points on top of 10 rebounds.

Fajardo, though, is taking the blame despite his dominant double-double.

“Hindi lang naman si ‘kuya’ CJ ang nag-struggle. Kaming lahat, nag-struggle. Talo kami as a team, mananalo kami as a team. Babawi kami sa next game,” said the 34-year-old, referring to his 30-year-old co-star.

In Fajardo’s eyes, sharing the ball is a major point for improvement if the Beermen are to extend the series. They ended Game 5 with 17 assists, while in comparison, they averaged 21.5 dimes in their two wins.

“’Yung same sa mga previous namin na talo, kapag mababa ang assists namin, natatalo kami,” he said. “Maganda sana ‘yung ano (ball movement) namin, hindi lang kami nakaka-shoot ng mga usual shots namin. Nagmimintis, pero ganun talaga.”

“Lalaruin pa rin namin ‘yung San Miguel basketball. ‘Yun lagi ang nire-remind ni coach [Jorge Gallent]: ‘Yung San Miguel basketball, kailangan naming laruin. Credit din sa Meralco, maganda laro nila.”