Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
June Mar Fajardo knows he has big shoes to fill for Gilas Pilipinas in the 2017 Fiba Asia Cup.
Without naturalized player Andray Blatche, the Cebuano giant will be thrust into the spotlight as he will be counted on to hold the paint against the giants of Asia.
“It’s going to be difficult because it’s tough to fill the shoes left by Andray because he’s our go-to guy,” he said in Filipino.
Blatche opted to sit out the Asian championships following security concerns in Lebanon, as well as financial issues, according to an earlier Inquirer report.
The Syracuse-born big man has been with Gilas since the 2014 Fiba World Cup, and was a part of the silver medal-winning squad which competed in the 2015 Fiba Asia Championship in Changsha, China. He last played for the country in the 2017 Seaba Championship last May.
Fajardo, meanwhile, will be bracing for only his second appearance in the continental meet — his first coming in 2013 here in Manila where he played sparingly as the team’s greenhorn.
But rather than be overwhelmed with his situation, the three-time PBA Most Valuable Player believes that the team’s success wouldn’t be dependent on his efforts alone.
“It’s still the team,” he said. “As long as we have teamwork and trust on ourselves, each other, and the coaches, we can do it. We just have to follow coach’s system and his instructions.”
Fajardo said that the team realizes the realities Gilas Pilipinas have been dealt with, but that doesn’t mean that the Philippines will just roll over and die.
“Nothing’s impossible,” he said. “We know that it’s going to be hard, but we believe that we’ll be able to win and we’ll do nothing but our best.”