“I still came up short”: June Mar Fajardo reflects after San Miguel fall to Barangay Ginebra

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel drew first blood in the Philippine Cup semifinals, edging longtime rivals San Miguel Beermen 99–90 in Game 1 on Sunday, January 4, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings will be grateful for the opening victory, as San Miguel’s record nine-time PBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) June Mar Fajardo delivered a heroic performance. The 36-year-old finished with 23 points, 21 rebounds, and three blocks in 40 minutes, though his efforts were largely unsupported by his teammates.

Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone acknowledged his team’s fortune in escaping with the win, while also praising Fajardo for his dominance on the court.

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Despite the accolades, Fajardo admitted he was dissatisfied with his overall performance.

GIN KINGS BENCH MOB 🫡

Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone lauded his bench players’ effort in their 99-90 win against the San Miguel Beermen. Cone also gave credit to June Mar Fajardo, who tallied 27 points and 23 rebounds in the loss. pic.twitter.com/hhJVr2NX7f

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) January 4, 2026

“I still came up short, because we lost. We need to bounce back, we need to regroup,” he said after the game.

One area where Fajardo struggled was at the free-throw line, missing seven of his 12 attempts. Part of the difficulty could be attributed to the defensive pressure applied by Ginebra’s big men, Japeth Aguilar and Norbert Torres. Torres, in particular, committed five fouls on Fajardo in an effort to curb his influence.

“We obviously played a tag team on Fajardo with Japeth Aguilar and Norbert. They did the best they could. It’s physically daunting to guard a guy that big and strong. Both Aguilar and Torres were exhausted just guarding a single guy,” Cone said.

“He is just that kind of player. Wow. He played the whole fourth quarter too, the whole 12 minutes of the fourth quarter. So amazing, man,” he added.

Despite Fajardo’s heroics, Barangay Ginebra’s balanced approach and resilience carried the day, giving them a crucial 1–0 lead in the best-of-seven semifinal series. Fajardo will hope to continue his strong form and get more support from his teammates when the two squads meet again in Game 2 on Wednesday, January 7, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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