MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel star June Mar Fajardo fouled out for the first time in nearly four years.

His absence in the endgame proved crucial as Converge handed the mighty Beermen their first loss in the PBA Governors’ Cup by way of a thrilling 107-103 win on Saturday, February 11.

FiberXers head coach Aldin Ayo said he instructed his players to attack the six-time MVP on offense, a plan that worked to great effect as Fajardo exited the match with three minutes remaining.

“We want to take June Mar away from the game right away. I told the boys, just play our game, make sure that we get the pace, make June Mar a liability on defense,” said Ayo.

Fajardo ended the first three quarters with only two fouls before he became the focal point of the Converge offense.

Entering the fourth frame at the eight-minute mark, he picked up four fouls within the next five minutes as he fouled out for the first time since April 2019 – or since Game 1 of their Philippine Cup semifinals against Phoenix.

Three of those four fouls resulted in six free throws, which the FiberXers all sank.

Fajardo finished with 7 points – his second-lowest scoring output of the season – to go with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in 31 minutes of action.

“He is probably the best player in terms of offense but June Mar also has lapses, everybody knows it. That is the trade off and we want to exploit that,” Ayo said.

With the win, Converge hiked its record to 5-1 and forged a three-way logjam at second place with San Miguel and TNT. – Rappler.com