Cebuano basketball star June Mar Fajardo capped yet another dominant year by winning his record-extending ninth PBA MVP award on Sunday, October 5, during the Leo’s Annual Awards for Season 49 presented by ArenaPlus.
The 35-year-old San Miguel Beer franchise player bagged the league’s highest individual award by runaway fashion, amassing a total of 3041 points by topping the statistics (1688), media votes (855), and players’ votes (518).
In his 11-year pro career, only twice has Fajardo not walked away with the MVP trophy – during his rookie season in 2012 and in 2020 when he went down with a fracture on his right tibia and missed out completely the entire season.
When he went down with the career-threatening injury, the 6-foot-11 giant from Pinamungajan thought everything was over.
‘Nung na-injured ako, nung nabali yung tibia ko, maraming nagsabi na hindi na ako makakabalik sa PBA. Kahit ako nag-cross yun sa isip ko na baka hindi na nga ako mabakalik,’ he recalled of that grueling experience he suffered during the pandemic season.
But here he was five years after, bagging a record ninth MVP award, a feat that hasn’t been achieved in the 50-year of Asia’s oldest professional league.
He beat out Robert Bolick of NLEX (1941) and Northport’s Arvin Tolentino (1901).
Fajardo, Bolick, and Tolentino made up the Mythical 1st Team along with Calvin Oftana (TNT) and CJ Perez (San Miguel).
Meanwhile, RJ Abarrientos of Barangay Ginebra was adjudged Rookie of the Year and won over Rain or Shine’s Caelan Tiongson and Sedric Barefield of Blackwater.
The No. 3 overall pick in the Season 49 draft totaled 1971 points to the 1505 of Tiongson and 1424 of Barefield.
Former PBA greats and players attended the hour-long event led by four-time MVP Ramon Fernandez and 1995 MVP winner and Bulakan, Bulacan Mayor Vergel Meneses, while also present were former Commissioner Renauld ‘Sonny’ Barrios and former PBA Board Chairman and now Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Patrick Pato Gregorio.
The entire PBA Board led by Chairman Ricky Vargas and Commissioner Willie Marcial acted as award presenters.
Comprising the Mythical Second Team are Scottie Thompson (Barangay Ginebra), Roger Pogoy (TNT), Justin Arana (Converge), Japeth Aguilar (Barangay Ginebra), and Zavier Lucero (Magnolia).
Fajardo led the All-Defensive Team members together with Glenn Khobuntin (TNT), Lucero, Stephen Holt (Barangay Ginebra), and Joshua Munzon (Northport).
Munzon was also the recipient of the Most Improved Player Award, while Rain or Shine’s Gian Mamuyac was given the Samboy Lim Sportsmanship Award.-PBA.ph.