A dominant force
A few columns ago, I said that eventually Junmar Fajardo will become a dominant force in Philippine basketball.
As his rookie year draws to a close, the gentle giant is slowly proving me right.
In the current semi-final series between Rain or Shine and Petron, the victories of the Blaze were a combination of the efforts of their import, and Junmar Fajardo.
No local can stand in the way of the former UC Webmaster. In the second game, Junmar had a double-double.
Despite the impressive performance under the extremest of conditions, the press and TV commentators still continue to pose the name of Calvin Abueva as Rookie of the Year and even possibly Most Valuable Player.
The value of a player should be gauged by the ability of that player to lead his team to success.
Michael Jordan, with all his talents, never got the recognition, even with his incomparable skills, until he brought the Chicago Bulls to nirvana.
No doubt about it, Calvin will become a dominating player in his own way. He is already demonstrating his capabilities, and the limit of his skills is nowhere in sight.
If a team were to choose between a Fajardo or an Abueva, however, nine out of ten, the team will go for the likes of Junmar.
Which brings me to the dilemma that Chot Reyes is undergoing right now. Obviously, Marcus Douhit is not enough in the forthcoming World Championships in Madrid, Spain.
I think the Philippine team should not resort to naturalizing another foreigner. It would take the luster of any modest success that the team will achieve.
Right here among us are two bigs who can serve the same purpose.
Junmar is of course one of them. The other one is Greg Slaughter.
He is still a diamond in the rough, but with the right exposure, Greg can be toughened enough and can serve a few minutes of relief for either Junmar or Marcus.
I would put in Abueva and Beau Belga into the equation. The latter was right in his comment that what the Gilas team lacked was toughness.
Nobody can question Beau’s hard-hitting style of play. Abueva, although smaller, can be just as intimidating.
The only problem is the training schedule.
When the next season of the PBA opens, the end of the third conference would give the Philippine team just a few weeks to practice.
Perhaps with the logistics that the team is armed with, Coach Chot can find the means to prepare the team for Spain. Well, if not next year, maybe the Asiad, the Olympics and again the next World Championship.
It took Tony Parker more than ten years to bring the Euro Championship to his beloved France. I will bet that the win was more meaningful to him than any of the three NBA rings he possess.
Junmar Fajardo, Greg Slaughter, Calvin Abueva and Beau Belga are all young bucks, with easily ten more years of basketball, barring serious injuries.
Instead of just looking at the World Championship in Spain, let us aim to keep the lofty perch that we have regained for at least a decade.
If we are able to do this, then expect Filipino basketball fans to become more crazy about the game.
