By ADRIAN STEWART CO

San Miguel Beermen will be shorthanded heading into the homestretch of the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup with veteran center June Mar Fajardo sidelined with an injury.

Fajardo is reportedly to be out for five to six weeks due to a medial collateral ligament injury he sustained while playing for Beermen in the East Asia Super League in Japan earlier this month.

“June Mar is [going] to be out but there is no surgery needed for him, so there is still a chance for him to comeback [in the playoff round],” Beermen team manager Gelacio Abanilla said.

The 6-foot-10 Fajardo sustained the injury 21 seconds into the action during the Beermen-Ryukyu Golden Kings, where the reigning PBA Philippine Cup champion suffered a lopsided loss.

This was not the first time that the six-time PBA MVP winner has missed time for the Beermen due to injury, as he was also out for a portion of the 2022-2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup due to throat surgery.

Abanilla added that, in Fajardo’s absence, Beermen interim coach Jorge Gallent will have to rely on centers Moala Tautuaa, Vic Manuel and Rodney Brondial, and import Cameron Clark to fill the spot.

“We have to rely on our other big men to fill the gap,” Abanilla said.

“We also do not plan to replace Cameron Clark since he can also play multiple positions for us and his teammates love him,” he added.

The Cebu province’s Pinamungahan-native Fajardo has solid numbers for the Beermen this conference as he averaged 12.7 points, 12 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 32:52 minutes of action in nine matches.

The Beermen still have two matches on their schedule against streaking NLEX Road Warriors (7-3) this Wednesday, March 15, and against also-ran Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Friday, March 17.

With a 7-2 win-loss record in the standings, the Beermen are already assured of a quarterfinals slot, but are still fighting to finish within the top four to have a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals./ASC, WDJ