JUNE Mar Fajardo may have played his final game for Gilas Pilipinas, but his impact was still felt in a crucial moment during the Philippines’ 68-56 victory over Iran on Sunday.
With Gilas struggling early, Fajardo’s jump hook late in the second quarter sent the Mall of Asia Arena crowd into a frenzy and gave the team a much-needed lift heading into halftime.
“That was huge,” Tim Cone said.
“When he got the ball and made that turn and landed that jump hook, the crowd went absolutely crazy. And that kind of gave us that lift going into halftime.”
Cone likened the moment to Carl Tamayo’s shot at the end of the first half against Jordan, which also energized the team during its comeback in the previous game.
“This time it was June Mar’s turn. And that really elevated the crowd and elevated the whole team. We all got excited about that,” said Cone.
Fajardo also contributed on the defensive end before Cone leaned more heavily on Kai Sotto and AJ Edu for the remainder of the contest.
But while Sotto posted another double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds, Cone reserved special praise for Edu, who quietly handled the dirty work throughout the game.
“I think AJ was the unheralded guy out there,” Cone said.
Edu played 37 minutes, serving as Sotto’s wingman and doing the work that did not necessarily show up in the box score.
“He played like 37 minutes and was just that guy that we needed, you know, as a wingman to Kai and doing some of the dirty work and creating mismatches over there,” Cone said.
Cone also credited Edu for cleaning up defensively whenever Sotto stepped out to challenge a play.
“Plus, being the backup defender, when Kai went for something, couldn’t get it, he was there to help clean it up,” Cone continued.
Fajardo’s timely basket, Edu’s tireless work and Sotto’s interior presence all helped Gilas recover from an 18-7 deficit and completed a perfect fourth window against Jordan and Iran. (Jesus Nathaniel Valdez)
