Marcio Lassiter expects San Miguel to be in top form with June Mar Fajardo’s return

Nothing beats a healthy June Mar Fajardo for San Miguel.

The expected return of the PBA’s one and only 6-time Most Valuable Player after being sidelined for the entire 45th season is definitely exciting news to welcome the new season as far as teammate Marcio Lassiter is concerned.

The 33-year old Lassiter admitted that the vacuum created by the absence of the 6-foot-10 center in the 2020 Philippine Cup was just too much to overcome.

“He (June Mar) allows us to play our style of play. We’re looking forward to have him back so we can play the roles that we know we can play,” said Lassiter.

Without their main man, the league’s winningest squad failed in their quest to extend their 5-year rule in the All-Filipino conference after they were unceremoniously booted out of the ‘bubble season’ by the Meralco Bolts despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinal round.

“We weren’t allowed to play much time without him. There were things we have to adjust for,” explained Lassiter.

Aside from Fajardo, Terrence Romeo was also out-of-commission due to a shoulder injury while Matt Ganuelas-Rosser opted out of the shortened season in order to spend time with his family in the US.

SMC sports directed Alfrancis Chua earlier broke the news that Fajardo has been given a clean bill of health by renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. George Canlas.

With the team in full force, Lassiter is expecting a big bounce back once the league ushers in its 46th season on April 9.

“I know it’s going to be a different conference for us. We got a few guys coming back from injuries and it’s going to be great having them back. And (we’ll) play the San Miguel Beermen way as we’ve done before.”