SAN MIGUEL'S ROSS COMES TO TEAMMATE FAJARDO'S AID AMID CRITICISM IN GILAS LOSS

MANILA, Philippines — Following a sub-par performance by June Mar Fajardo in Gilas Pilipinas’ stunning opening night loss against Chinese Taipei in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup, the big man’s San Miguel teammate Chris Ross defended the eight-time PBA Most Valuable Player.

Fajardo played 19 minutes and 29 seconds in Gilas’ 95-87 loss against Chinese Taipei early Wednesday morning. He finished with two points and two rebounds, making one of his three field goal attempts while also committing three turnovers.

Some fans criticized the 6-foot-10 center for his showing, especially since Fajardo and the San Miguel Beermen are coming off a PBA championship last month.

Ross, in a post on X, answered a fan who described Fajardo as a “complete joke in the international” stage.

“June isn't the focal point of the offense. Playing in the triangle before [and] during Asian Games, the offense is catered around [Justin Brownlee],” Ross, who won 11 PBA championships with Fajardo, said.

“Another thing, June hasn't practiced since Game 1 of the semis trying to manage his injury. Only if y'all knew what he's doing just to get on court,” he added.

Fajardo played in the PBA Philippine Cup finals with a calf injury.

Still, a few days after he and the Beermen won the title, Fajardo and teammate CJ Perez joined Gilas.

Fajardo, though, did not suit up in the Philippines’ send-off tune-up game against the Macau Black Bears along with Calvin Oftana. Perez, on the other hand, played in the friendly.

The 35-year-old big man will be a key player for Gilas, who is already missing 7-foot-3 behemoth Kai Sotto.

Gilas head coach Tim Cone, after the loss against Chinese Taipei, said that with the stunning defeat being a roadblock in their way, he pushed the team to move on and get over.

“We can feel bad about this one as much as we want. You know, we can cry about it even. But the bottom line is we got New Zealand coming up and we got to get ready for them,” he said.

“You know, this team has shown a lot of bounce back in the past, and I think we have a really good chance of coming out and playing a better, better game our next time out.”

Fajardo and AJ Edu will continue to patrol the paint for the Philippines, which will take on New Zealand in its next game  on Thursday, 11 p.m. (Manila time).

2025-08-07T08:31:24Z