June Mar Fajardo, Sarina Bolden earn top individual PSA Awards

THE SAN Miguel Corporation-Philippine Sportswriters Association has named Gilas Pilipinas center June Mar Fajardo and Filipinas attacker Sarina Bolden Mr. Basketball and Ms. Football, respectively.

Fajardo, 34, and Bolden, 27, both delivered impressive performances in 2023 by leading the Philippine teams’ campaigns in significant international competitions. 

The 6-ft-10 San Miguel Beermen center was in Cambodia with the Gilas Pilipinas squad, which won the basketball gold medal at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games by defeating a naturalized-player heavy team.

Three months later, Fajardo and the Philippine squad played in front of ecstatic local basketball fans at the FIBA World Cup, which the country co-hosted with Japan and Indonesia. 

Gilas did not proceed to the knockout stage but it secured one of three Asian slots in the FIBA Qualifying Tournament for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Fajardo played a key role in the national team’s surprising march to the gold medal at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, ending the country’s 61-year wait to restore regional basketball supremacy.

This will be Fajardo’s sixth Mr. Basketball title in seven years. Last year, Scottie Thompson of Barangay Ginebra broke the big man’s five-year streak of awards.

Meanwhile, Sarina Bolden, the face of the Philippine women’s national football team, will be dubbed Ms. Football. 

This was following a remarkable performance in the Women’s World Cup, where she scored a historic goal in the Philippines’ debut at the prestigious event. It will be Bolden’s second time claiming the prize.