The Saudipinoy and June Mar Fajardo's unlikely bromance is now in the PBA as the pair reunited during the Philippine Cup playoffs on Christmas Day.
Happy Holidays indeed.
Content creator and self-confessed June Mar Fajardo stan The Saudipinoy, whose real name is Ahmed Alruwaili, had a visit to remember after witnessing the San Miguel Beermen live during the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup playoffs.
In the Philippines for a two-week vacation, The Saudipinoy caught the Beermen in action on Christmas Day at the Smart Araneta Coliseum as San Miguel took on NLEX in the quarterfinals.
[RELATED: Who is TheSaudipinoy? Meet the Saudi vlogger who dressed up June Mar Fajardo in Jeddah]
The reunion was made possible when Fajardo’s assistant learned that The Saudipinoy was in the country, who then reached out and extended an invitation for the online sensation to come watch the Beermen play.
"The assistant of Fajardo called me [to watch the game],” The Saudipinoy told One Sports.
The experience actually didn’t start at the Big Gome. The Saudipinoy also got to attend San Miguel’s team practice before seeing the Beermen live in game action.
"Ako two weeks in the Philippines, promise talaga—my favorite two days are yesterday and today kasi San Miguel and kasi June Mar Fajardo, bisaya,” he said.
Surprisingly, the content creator admitted that he wasn’t always a fan of the PBA—or even familiar with Fajardo—until an OFW friend introduced him to the current nine-time PBA MVP.
"Ako, to be honest, hindi ko alam [si] June Mar Fajardo. My OFW friend game me a Fajardo jersey, ako hindi alam,” he recalled.
Curious about the buzz surrounding the San Miguel big man, The Saudipinoy eventually found himself drawn to Fajardo’s game and personality.
"Dati ako, hindi artista pero ngayon, artista [na ng] San Miguel.”
The first time he saw Fajardo in person was during the FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia, where Gilas Pilipinas pulled off a gritty 95-88 overtime win against the host country to advance to the quarterfinals.
"Actually, I have been using June Mar Fajardo's jersey [for] five years. I never met him, pero 2025, I met June Mar, three times,” he said.
"First Asia Cup sa Saudi, second, PBA in Dubai. Third, yesterday and today in the Philippines.”
Already thrilled just to attend practice, The Saudipinoy got an even bigger reward when San Miguel secured a semifinals berth in the PBA Philippine Cup thanks to the 101-94 win over NLEX.
Fajardo powered the Beermen with a monster double-double of 26 points and 23 rebounds against the Road Warriors.
"The truth is, I didn’t know about Fajardo pero I started to like him because when I was in Saudi, OFW’s would [be like]: 'Fajardo, Fajardo,’” The Saudipinoy said.
"I started to watch him and what he was doing, very good guy on the basketball court, very giant, very aggressive, pero outside very mabait.”
Seeing the gentle giant up close only strengthened his loyalty—and it’s one that will last even beyond Fajardo’s playing days.
"Even if June Mar Fajardo retires, ako will always use June Mar Fajardo jersey talaga."
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Gillian Trinidad began her career in the industry as a content producer before finding her voice as a feature writer.
She has covered a wide range of competitions—from esports titles like League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and VALORANT to traditional sports and entertainment, including the WWE, PBA, and Gilas Pilipinas.