Doctors fear June Mar Fajardo suffered partially torn ACL, out for PBA Finals and Olympic qualifiers

DOCTORS fear two-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo is out not only for the Philippine Cup Finals against Alaska but also Gilas Pilipinas' coming campaign in the Fiba Olympic Qualifying Tournament in July.

Sources from the San Miguel Corp. camp bared that an MRI scan done on Fajardo's left knee at the St. Luke's Hospital on Friday night revealed a partial tear on his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). 

“May partial tear eh. Kaya malabo na siya maglaro sa finals. Pati yung (Olympic) wildcard (qualifiers) damay," a source told Spin.ph. "Kasi hindi talaga siya makalakad.”

Fajardo's left knee has been put on an immobilizer, the source added, and the 6-10 national player can’t walk without the aid of crutches when he left the hospital early Saturday morning.

San Miguel has yet to make an official announcement at posting time.

The real extent of the damage - and the time Fajardo will have to sit out - will be known in a second check up with famed orthopedic surgeon Raul Canlas on Monday, the source added.

While Fajardo is almost certainly out of the PBA Finals, his stint with Gilas will largely depend on the nunber of fibers torn in the ACL - and the time it will take for him to recover.

“Hindi pa alam ng mga therapist kung ilang fiber ang napunit, 'yun ang aalamin ni Doc Canlas sa Monday,” said the source. “But definitely, malabo na siya sa finals kasi hindi talaga siya makalakad."

The injury happened at the 7:22 mark of the third quarter of Game Six, which saw a Fajardo-less San Miguel complete a 90-82 victory over Rain or Shine to clinch a place in the best-of-seven finals.

Here's the sequence:

In the sequence, Fajardo apparently hyperextended his left knee when he came into contact with the legs of Rain or Shine guard Jireh Ybanes, who tried to box him out in a rebound battle.

Former Red Bull Thunder team doctor John Lim shook his head upon hearing about the extent of Fajardo’s injury.

“Depende kasi sa damage 'yan at dami ng napunit na fiber. Pero hindi siya makakalaro kaagad definitely. Depende kasi sa gravity ng injury 'yan,” said Lim, who stressed that the ACL is the most sensitive part of an athlete’s knee.

“Normally kasi, pag partial tear at walang gaanong punit, three to six weeks 'yan. Mamamaga yan at sasakit pa ng matagal-tagal. Pag 50 percent ng fiber napunit, mga atleast two months 'yun. Full ACL tear kasi six months recovery and therapy yun,” he added.

Source: Snow Badua of Spin.ph

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SMB pair June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter confirm attendance in first Gilas pool practice

JUNE Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter have confirmed their attendance in the first practice of the new Gilas Pilipinas pool on Monday night, guaranteeing national coach Tab Baldwin a full complement of players when the team begins preparation for the Olympic wildcard qualifiers.

Gilas team manager Butch Antonio told Spin.ph on Sunday he has gotten in touch with touch with the help of PBA president and CEO Chito Salud and SMB governor and league chairman Robert Non, with both confirming that they'll join the rest in a 17-man pool on Monday at the Meralco gym.

"Marcio and June Mar will be at practice tomorrow," said Antonio.

This will mark the 6-10 Fajardo's return to the Gilas program after the two-time league MVP sat out the national team's stint in the last Fiba Asia Championship in Changsha, China, citing plantar fasciitis injuries on both feet.

On the other hand, Lassiter will be joining the national team for the first time since begging off from the 2014 Gilas 2.0 pool along with Greg Slaughter.

The two will join Gilas 3.0 holdovers Marc Pingris, Troy Rosario, Calvin Abueva, Gabe Norwood, Matt Ganuelas Rosser, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jayson Castro, and Terrence Romeo, Rain or Shine's Jeff Chan and Paul Lee, Star's Ian Sangalang, Talk 'N Text's Ryan Reyes, and Ginebra's LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and Slaughter in the first of the once-a-week practices spread over seven months leading up to the Olympic qualifiers in July.

De Ocampo recently suffered a herniated disc in a freak gym accident and won't be able to join the practices, but Antonio confirmed that Gilas pool members arriving from Dubai - namely Abueva, Tenorio, Slaughter and Aguilar - have expressed an intention to join the Monday practice.

Baldwin said he is thrilled to have the best players available for the Olympic qualifiers, but readily made it known that he expects a fierce competition forplaces in the team during the seven-month buildup.

Depending on the availability of naturalized player Andray Blatche and Fil-Am guard Jordan Clarkson, Baldwin will have to cut a maximum seven players and a minimum five before the tournament. 

Source: Spin.ph

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Fajardo accepts Baldwin's challenge to become Gilas centerpiece

MANILA, Philippines -- New Gilas coach Tab Baldwin made it no secret that he will make the 6-foot-10 June Mar Fajardo the centerpiece of the FIBA Asia-bound national team. 

The reiging PBA two-time MVP, who was used as back-up during his Gilas debut,  welcomed the challenge. 

"Nakakatuwa naman ('yung sinabi ni coach Tab). Malaking responsibilidad at nakaka-pressure rin pero, why not? Opportunity 'yun eh," Fajardo told Philstar.com. 

Fajardo has improved by leaps and bounds since his debut in the international stage and he wants to repay the trust of Baldwin and the Filipino fans. 

The Cebuano big man will be using the short break to rest his injury (plantar fasciitis) on both feet before returning for the Gilas training camp. San Miguel management gave them a six-week break but Fajardo is expected to only use a couple of weeks of that as he will plunge back to training with the Gilas pool starting August. 

"Uuwi ako sa Cebu baka this Friday then saka na ako babalik kapag na-announce na ang (Gilas) pool, " Fajardo said. 

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Baldwin has already submitted his list of candidates for Gilas pool to the PBA. The PBA and SBP will be announcing the names in a joint press conference before this month ends. 

Fajardo, who averaged 17.4 points and 12.9 rebounds this season on his way to his second straight league MVP, knows he has to re-calibrate his game to adjust to the much tougher FIBA Asia competition. 

"Kailangan ko pang itaas ang confidence ko kasi ibang level na dun sa FIBA Asia. Malalaki at mabibilis ang kalaban dun," Fajardo said. 

Baldwin has already envisioned Fajardo to play alongside naturalized center Andray Blatche in most stretches giving them enough ceiling to counter the bigger teams in Asia. 

Source: Alder Almo of Philippine Star

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Baldwin set to make Fajardo centerpiece of next Gilas team

MANILA, Philippines -- With the PBA’s 40th season officially over, the spotlight will now shift to Gilas Pilipinas, which will be preparing for this year’s 2015 Fiba-Asia men’s championships in Changsa, Hunan, China.

Gilas coach Tab Baldwin, a regular fixture in the just-concluded PBA Governors Cup Finals, explained that San Miguel star center June Mar Fajardo will be the centerpiece of the national squad that will shoot
for no less than a berth in next year’s Rio Olympics in Brazil.

“As much as I wanna keep things close to the chest because that’s the right way to do things as we go through the process, you have to be a moron to not understand that June Mar is gonna be the pivot of the
team and the first guy that’s gonna be selected,” Baldwin told Philstar.com.

The 57-year-old Baldwin noted that the 6-foot-10 Fajardo’s game has developed a lot since becoming the top rookie pick three years ago.

“His footwork is getting better and his confidence is great,” said the veteran international coach.

“We need that size. We can’t get in any place else. He’s the obvious choice.” 

Fajardo was heads and shoulders above the competition in the Finals after finishing with huge numbers of 16.7 points, 17.2 rebounds and 2.0 blocks to help the Beermen complete a four-game sweep of the Alaska Aces.

However, Baldwin said the 25-year-old Fajardo will have to adjust his game in the international competition, noting that he’ll be playing against who are bigger than him.

“It’s (Fiba-Asia tournament) gonna be different for him (Fajardo). It’s not gonna be the same.  It’s not PBA.  It’s gonna require a different type of behavior from June Mar,” he added.

The vastly-improved Fajardo will be working side by side with naturalized player and former Brooklyn Nets center Andray Blatche in the Fiba-Asia basketball showpiece set to start on Sept. 23.

The Philippines will be shooting for its first trip back to the Olympics since the 1972 Munich Games in Mexico.

Only the Fiba-Asia men’s champion will earn a ticket to the Olympics, with the second and third placers will then go through the final Olympic qualifier.

Source: Richard Dy of the Philippine Star

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