June Mar Fajardo officially ends 13-year Gilas Pilipinas career

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

After 70 official FIBA games and a legendary 13-year career, June Mar Fajardo finally bade goodbye to the Gilas Pilipinas men’s national basketball team.

Surely, the glitz and glamour would always be associated with someone who won nine PBA Most Valuable Player awards, but the gentle giant did it the very “Fajardo” way.

During Gilas’ 68-56 victory over Iran in the fourth window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, Fajardo’s exit didn’t have a formal ceremony, a halftime tribute, or a postgame appreciation speech.

Instead, the pride of Pinamungajan, Cebu, chose to celebrate with the national team, answered every question from the media, and gracefully waved from every corner of the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Little did they know that Fajardo had played his final game as a member of the national team, officially ending an illustrious international basketball career while passing the torch to the new generation of the Gilas squad.

Of course, Gilas gave its heartfelt appreciation to Fajardo, as guard Chris Newsome rushed to the scorer’s table to get the official game ball.

The Meralco Bolts star then handed it to Fajardo, and the Cebuano center raised the ball high while receiving a standing ovation from the Filipino fans present at MOA.

Fajardo then made everything official on social media, posting a lengthy message accompanied by photos and videos from throughout his Gilas career.

“After many years of wearing our country’s colors, the time has come for me to officially retire from the Gilas National Team,” Fajardo wrote on his official Facebook account.

“There were unforgettable victories and painful defeats, but through all of them, I gave everything I had every time I stepped on the court.”

Fajardo’s Gilas career was nothing short of spectacular, beginning in 2013 as a backup center to former naturalized player Marcus Douthit. He was part of the national team roster that broke a 36-year FIBA World Cup drought, highlighted by the famous win over Korea during the FIBA Asia Championship.

Since getting his first assignment in 2013, Fajardo quickly became a staple of the national team and was always there to answer the call.

In his 13-year career, Fajardo was part of Gilas’ three FIBA World Cup appearances and experienced four eras of national team coaching, but remained the squad’s steady rock.

Fajardo was supposed to hang up his jersey in the last FIBA window, but head coach Tim Cone and the rest of the staff asked him to play one more time for the must-win fourth window.

Without a second thought, Fajardo accepted Gilas’ request and marched with his younger national team brothers to battle for the final time.

Fajardo didn’t log his usual numbers against Jordan and Iran, but once he was inserted into the game, this generation’s PBA icon made the most of it, especially against Iran, where he sparked a 15-5 run in the second quarter.

In his final game wearing Gilas’ blue and white threads, Fajardo tallied six points on perfect shooting from the field while grabbing two rebounds.

“I may be retiring from the Gilas National Team, but the pride of representing my country will never leave me,” Fajardo continued.

“Thank you for the honor! Thank you for the memories! Thank you for the journey! I am forever grateful, forever proud!”