Fajardo’s Gilas stint hangs in limbo

June Mar Fajardo did not confirm his decision to hang up his Gilas Pilipinas jersey.

Still, the veteran center hinted that the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers fourth window games could be his last.

Fajardo is expected to make the cut in the 12-man Gilas roster scheduled to take on Jordan on Friday and Iran on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“Possibly. Possible that it could be my last two games with the national team,” the 6-foot-10 behemoth said on Monday during a press conference at the same Pasay venue.

It was not the first time that the nine-time Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Most Valuable Player and a regular fixture in the national team since 2013 floated the idea of calling it quits for the tricolor.

In fact, head coach Tim Cone shared the San Miguel Beer star initially wanted to retire right after Gilas’ disastrous third window road campaign.

“Yeah, I don't know if it got caught on in the press, but after the last window, after the Australian game, he gave a long speech in the locker room about how he wanted to retire from Gilas. It was similar to what Japeth (Aguilar) did previously the year before,” Cone said.

“I was happy for him. Players were, you know, slapping him on the shoulders, thanking him and everything. But I was thinking at the same time, he ain't retiring. I'm not gonna let him retire,” Cone quipped.

Cone felt that Fajardo can still make a huge impact playing against Middle Eastern teams. Gilas also needs his veteran presence as the team is in a must-win situation to advance to a fourth straight World Cup appearance.

The mentor added that it was Gilas program head Alfrancis Chua who convinced Fajardo to rejoin the team.

“So, we're really appreciative of him continuing to make that extra effort. And, you know, he's been playing a long time," Cone said.

"He plays a lot of minutes at San Miguel, and, you know, he's beat up, but he's still coming in and joining us. So, no one appreciates June Mar more than me. Just a really lovely guy. And I love that he sacrifices to keep coming in here and playing.”

After the FIBA window, Fajardo said he won’t be suiting up for the Philippines’ title defense in the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games next month.

“We have a lot of young players ready for the Asian Games so I’m just giving them my spot so that they could also experience what I’ve experienced in the Asian Games,” he said.