Gilas Pilipinas’ June Mar Fajardo against two Brazil defenders during the Fiba OQT semifinals game in Riga, Latvia. –FIBA PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Gilas Pilipinas coach Tim Cone expects eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo to pick up where he left off in the upcoming second window of the 2025 Fiba Asia Cup Qualifiers.
“He was a dominant player in the OQT (Olympic Qualifying Tournament) and we’re expecting him to be the same way for this window,” said Cone.
SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba Asia Cup 2025 qualifiers
“He’s our mainstay and one of our big go-to guys. You see the way he affects the game with San Miguel, what kind of difference he makes when he plays or doesn’t play, it’s the same with Gilas.”
At 35, Fajardo is showing no signs of slowing down fresh off another dominant stint in the PBA Governors’ Cup where he was named Best Player of the Conference for the 11th time that further solidified his status as the league’s greatest player ever.
READ: June Mar Fajardo gets ample rest before another Gilas stint
As dominant as he was in the PBA, Cone believes he’ll be as impactful in the big man’s latest national team stint against New Zealand and Hong Kong, respectively.
“He affects the game when he doesn’t play so he’ll give us that inside presence and the nice thing is Kai Sotto and June Mar are developing a chemistry where they can play together, which is unusual for two fives to play together.”