June Mar Fajardo to join Gilas Pilipinas in Euro camp for Fiba World Cup

June Mar Fajardo (left), here seeing action in his last international game in February, is just awaiting clearance from Gilas Pilipinas physicians to go all-out in practice. —FIBA.COM

Usually very taciturn, Gilas Pilipinas fixture and San Miguel cornerstone June Mar Fajardo had plenty to say when asked about the possibility of playing in another Fiba (International Basketball Federation) World Cup.

“I’m healthy. I’ll be joining the trip to Europe,” he told the Inquirer in Filipino as he got his knees wrapped with ice bags shortly after training at Meralco Gym in Pasig City. “I’m expecting to be fully cleared (by doctors) this week to join all kinds of activities on the court.

“It’s just my conditioning that I’m working on right now.”

Nicknamed the “Kraken,” Fajardo hurt his left knee early in Beermen’s campaign in the East Asia Super League’s Champions Week last March. That injury kept him from the club’s bid in the PBA Governors’ Cup and eventually from Gilas’ gold medal redemption run in the Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Cambodia.

Fajardo, the PBA’s only six-time MVP, first saw World Cup action in Seville, Spain—his sort of coming out party—in 2014 when the national five cornerstones were the naturalized Andray Blatche. Team Philippines scored an 81-79 overtime victory over Senegal as Fajardo had a dunk and two key charities in the waning minutes.

Coming out party

The 6-foot-10 Fajardo was the Most Improved Player that year, an award that went with an MVP trophy that touched off that string of six.

Having played in two World Cups, Fajardo beamed an even wider smile when asked about notching a sort of personal hat trick in the global showcase that the Philippines will be cohosting with Japan and Indonesia a little over two months from now.

“I’m really glad, you know, that I’m still included in the preparations for the World Cup,” he said. “I’m truly blessed to have played in two. And playing in a third? That really excites me.”

Aside from Fajardo, Barangay Ginebra’s high-leaping forward Japeth Aguilar is also on pace to figure in a third straight World Cup, having also played for Reyes Spain and then for Yeng Guiao in Foshan, China, five years later.

As he waxed nostalgic, the big man from Minglanilla in Cebu realized how far he and his pal Aguilar have come: “We’re the kuyas (older guys) now.”

“But you know, the younger guys [in this pool] are just as capable,” he added.

Expected crowd record

Of the original 21 standouts to form the pool for this World Cup, 12 have yet to turn 30 years old. But each one is no longer a stranger to the kind of play that awaits them when the big events get off the ground on Aug. 25 with the Filipinos expected to play in front of a Fiba record crowd at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

“These guys have played overseas. In places like Japan and Korea and international tournaments,” Fajardo said of the younger players on the team.

“The battle ahead won’t be easy, but I know we’re all going to do everything—from preparations to conditioning—so we can play well,” he said.

Gilas’ build-up kicked into high gear on Monday as Reyes and his staff have put a premium on fitness, game rhythm and the assimilation of AJ Edu and Rhenz Abando into the system.

The Nationals are scheduled to train and bond at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna, this Sunday before leaving for Europe on June 22 for a string of tune-up games against the national teams of Estonia, Finland and Latvia, along with pro clubs from Lithuania.

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