MANILA, Philippines – Reigning two-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo injured his right knee during the first half of the San Miguel Beermen’s game against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Friday, March 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Fajardo was back-peddling on a defensive sequence when he stepped on the foot of San Miguel import Tyler Wilkerson, got off-balanced, and hurt the knee.
Fajardo was then seen icing the injury while at the Beermen bench, but was taken to the team’s dug-out not long after.
Talking to the media inside the locker room after halftime, an already-dressed Fajardo said he rated the pain at a 4 out of 10 and said he believes it's a "bone bruise." He also admitted that if it was a PBA Finals game, he could return to action.
{source} <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Fajardo's dressed now. Won't return. <a href="https://t.co/qJEpJG0TSm">pic.twitter.com/qJEpJG0TSm</a></p>— Naveen Ganglani (@naveenganglani) <a href="https://twitter.com/naveenganglani/status/708269756567031808">March 11, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> {/source}
The Beermen star said the knee was already iced, but he is going to have an MRI as a precautionary method. According to a member of the San Miguel staff, he will be taken to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.
Fajardo also injured his left knee the last time San Miguel faced Rain or Shine - in Game 6 of the Philippine Cup semis - and missed his team’s next 4 games in the finals before returning and leading the Beermen to the title.
As of posting time, San Miguel leads Rain or Shine in the third quarter on Friday. – Rappler.com