Fajardo stands tall in gallant Gilas stand vs Dominicans

MANILA, Philippines – As Gilas Pilipinas and the Dominican Republic battled it out, the spotlight was on the marquee players on both sides — NBA stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Jordan Clarkson.

Towns, an NBA All-Star for the Minnesota Timberwolves, is one of the main guns of the Dominican Republic. Utah Jazz’s Clarkson, on the other hand, is Gilas Pilipinas’ scoring machine.

But another player stole the show for the Nationals — many-time PBA Most Valuable Player and champion June Mar Fajardo.

One of the pillars of the Gilas program, Fajardo showed out against the Dominican Republic on Friday night in front of a record crowd at the Philippine Arena, scoring 16 points, grabbing seven boards, and blocking a shot while shooting 5-of-5 from the field.

He would have had a perfect shooting game if not for two missed free throws.

Fajardo came up big in the fourth quarter as he put in timely shots — layups, an alley-oop finish, a jumper and free throws.

When Clarkson fouled out late in the game, it was Fajardo, aptly nicknamed as “The Kraken,” who scored a pair of charities to cut the Gilas deficit.

With the Philippines trailing by five, 76-81, with 2:27 remaining in the game, Fajardo drew a foul against Towns, as the Filipino big man faced up and successfully fished for a reach while shooting a short jumper.

Gilas head coach Chot Reyes admitted that he would have wanted to go to Fajardo more in the fourth quarter.

“[Fajardo] is a very efficient player, 28 minutes, 16 points, he did not miss a shot. So, we wanted… it is something I was disappointed about. Towards the end, we wanted to go to him a lot more,” Reyes told reporters after the heartbreaking 87-81 defeat against the Dominicans.

“Unfortunately, he was guarded by a 7 footer by the name of Karl-Anthony Towns as well. And I think [Towns] did a good job of denying him, forcing him to step outside and not giving him a good low post position,” he added.

“So, credit to them. We wanted to give him the ball a lot more, but they defended him well.”

Fajardo, meanwhile, shrugged off his great performance, saying the team is eyeing to bounce back in the next game against Angola.

“I really just want to help the team,” the soft-spoken 6-foot-10 behemoth told reporters after the game.

Fajardo, of course, will again be playing a big role in the Philippines’ next game against Angola, as they play another NBA player in 6-foot-10 Bruno Fernando.