Taken out of his sweet spot the entire night, June Mar Fajardo contributed where most big men don’t usually thrive in — the free throw line.

The 6-foot-10 former MVP canned eight straight free throws when the game hung in the balance on Sunday night and helped San Miguel Beer take a 2-0 lead over Talk ‘N Text in their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series after an 87-81 win at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Fajardo actually hit all of his 11 free throw attempts, finishing with 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter as he still found ways to hurt the Tropang Texters who played him super physical whenever the San Miguel slotman touched the ball inside the paint.

It was a performance of composure for Fajardo, who never lost his head despite being banged up all night as he made the Texters pay by hitting all of those 10 fourth quarter points in a string.

“It was a nice game and we were fortunate to snatch this one,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said. “We knew right from the start of the game that they (Tropang Texters) would be bouncing back after losing Game 1.”

Fajardo was the obvious target of the Talk ‘N Text defense after he had dropped 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 109-86 Game 1 win on Friday.

And for a while, for a long while actually, the Texters were successful in taking him out of the Beermen’s offensive flow.

Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos rose to the occasion when Fajardo was shut down in the first three quarters, with Cabagnot shooting 18 of his team-high 21 and Santos all of his 10 before the fourth period.

“The rest of the team knew that they (Texters) were going to try to stop Fajardo (tonight),” Austria continued. “And they responded by taking over. June Mar then made his free throws in the end for us.”

More than 80 percent of teams who have taken 2-0 leads in a best-of-seven series have gone on to win, but Austria is not about to fall into complacency, most especially since it is Talk ‘N Text that’s on the other side of the floor.

“I’ve had my experience before (in taking a huge series lead),” Austria said. “I was with Shell when we had a 3-1 lead and Ginebra still went on to win, 4-3. You still cannot be too sure.”

That was in 1991, whe Austria was still playing for the Turbo Chargers, who took that commanding lead only to lose the last three games and yield the First Conference title to the crowd-darlings and the legendary Robert Jaworski.

San Miguel hit seven of its first 11 attempts from three-point range, with Cabagnot canning his first three as the Beermen played with control right from the start.

That hot start cushioned the impact of several stretches where the Texters blew hot, and it made up for Fajardo’s struggles from the field as he was good for only five points in the first three periods.

Jason Castro paced the Texters with 26 points and Jay Washington added 17. The duo combined for 11 of Talk ‘N Text’s 20 fourth quarter points but the team struggled with no one else stepping up.

Game 3 of this series is slated on Tuesday even as Rain or Shine and Alaska break a 1-1 tie in their separate series Monday night.

Momentum will be on the Elasto Painters going into the 7 p.m. contest after they posted a 102-95 Game 2 victory on Saturday that saw them lead by as large as 21 points.