It has been nearly 7 weeks now since it was reported that June Mar Fajardo would miss time on the basketball court following a leg injury.

The question on some people's minds is whether Fajardo, who hasn't played a PBA game since August 8 when San Miguel Beer lost to Barangay Ginebra in Game 6 of the Commissioner's Cup finals, could still win another MVP, let alone remain in contention.

After the Philippine Cup and the Commissioner's Cup, where he took home the best player awards, Fajardo seemed a lock to secure the MVP trophy.

With the injury forcing him to miss San Miguel's seven games so far in the ongoing Governors' Cup, however, there's a sense to math-challenged fans that his quest for a personal "5-peat" is all but derailed.

In reality, though, the season-ending award is still very much in play for Fajardo, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.

Working the math and sharing his calculation on Twitter, Mangonon said Fajardo needs to play one game in the Governors' Cup should San Miguel play the maximum 18 games this conference — 2 in the quarterfinals and 5 in the semifinals, to go with 11 elimination-round outings.

This is to satisfy one requirement for MVP candidates — they must have played 70% of the team's available games for the season.

Statistics that help determine the league's season-ending awards count only until the Governors' Cup semifinals.

"Anything less than 18 games for SMB thru semis, JMF doesn't need to play anymore this conf and will still make 70%," Mangonon said.

San Miguel is currently fifth from bottom with a 3-4 record.

Fajardo has won the past 4 MVP awards, a total that ties him with Ramon Fernandez and Alvin Patrimonio for most in league history.

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