Fajardo tops PBA rookie draft

TOWERING Junemar Fajardo edged 56 other aspirants who wanted to play in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) after he landed on Sunday with the Petron Boosters, one of the teams of diversifying conglomerate San Miguel.

Fajardo’s entry into the franchise owned by Ramon Ang did not come as a surprise since he also played for San Miguel Beermen in the Asean Basketball League (ABL). The team finished runner up to the Indonesia Warriors in its debut year.

Another Cebuano also made it to the pros in the selection held at the Midtown Robinsons Place Manila.

Jan Colina, a former Adamson University stalwart, came in 36th as he was picked by new franchise Global Port Batang Pier.

The Boosters will usher in a new beginning after it tapped Olsen Racela of the national youth team to replace Ato Agustin as coach. Fajardo, who stands 6-foot-10, will join veterans Danny Ildefonso, Alex Cabagnot and Dondon Hontiveros, his hardcourt idol.

Colina, Fajardo and Hontiveros played for the University of Cebu, the defending champion in the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) tournament.

Fajardo once rivaled Greg Slaughter of the University of the Visayas until the Fil-Am center transferred to Ateneo de Manila, where he is gunning for a second straight championship in the 75th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

The 22-year-old from Pinangumahan town is the first bigman to end up as top pick since Japeth Aguilar, also 6-foot-10, in 2009. He is expected to earn P150,000 a month on the first year, according to PBA rules.

The 38th PBA season comes off the wraps on September 30 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)