THE Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) has yet to find a worthy challenger to San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo, as “The Kraken” sets an unmatched league record by securing his ninth Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
Sunday turned golden for the San Miguel big man, who further solidified his dominance in the PBA after being named MVP once again for Season 49 during the annual Leo Awards at Novotel Manila Araneta City.
This also marks his third straight MVP win since yielding the award to Ginebra’s Scottie Thompson in 2022 — a season when Fajardo was still regaining his rhythm after a shin injury in 2020 sidelined him for the PBA bubble in Clark.
But questions about his return to form were never about if — only when. And in time, Fajardo helped lift San Miguel back to the top, notably spoiling TNT Tropang Giga’s Grand Slam hopes in the Philippine Cup.
Fajardo wrapped up the season with impressive per-game averages of 19.2 points, a league-leading 15.1 rebounds, along with 3.1 assists and one block, all while logging 36.4 minutes of action per game.
“Sinong mag-aakala na isang bata na hindi man lang mahilig mag-basketball pero nandito at mananalo ng nine MVPs. Kahit ako mismo, hindi ko naisip,” Fajardo told during his acceptance speech.
Sharing the Spotlight
Joining Fajardo on the Mythical First Team were his San Miguel teammate CJ Perez, Calvin Oftana of TNT, Robert Bolick of NLEX, and Arvin Tolentino — formerly of NorthPort and now playing overseas with the Seoul SK Knights in Korea.
The Mythical Second Team featured Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar of Barangay Ginebra, RR Pogoy of TNT, Justin Arana of Converge, and Zaiver Lucero of Magnolia.
Ginebra’s RJ Abarrientos claimed the Rookie of the Year honor, while the All-Defensive Team was composed of Fajardo, Lucero, Glenn Khobuntin of TNT, Stephen Holt of Ginebra, and Joshua Munzon of Titan Ultra.
In the other awards, Munzon also earned the Most Improved Player title, while Gian Mamuyac of Rain or Shine took home the Sportsmanship Award.
