Keeping the faith

It took five years for Dominick Fajardo to convince himself that he could play in the PBA. He was a star at Bulacan State University and named MVP of the Universities and Colleges Basketball League in 2016. But the six-foot stocky forward figured with his height, he wouldn’t stand a chance matching up against taller, bigger and bulkier frontliners. Fajardo tested the waters in the 2017 PBA D-League draft and was a faorgotten pick on the 15th round by Zark’s Lyceum. So Fajardo took a job at NLEX, became a regular employee in 2018 with the security department but found time to play hoops during off-work hours.

In the PBA’s second 3x3 season, Fajardo was called in to play for NLEX under the Cavitex banner and impressed. Cavitex took four leg titles and went to the Grand Finals of the second conference in 2022-23. That opened the door for Fajardo to play for NLEX in the PBA OnTour series as a rookie who’d never applied for the draft. In his first five games, Fajardo averaged 16.4 points and decided to join the draft last September. At 29, he was chosen on the third round, 30th overall, by NLEX.

Fajardo’s first conference was a disaster in the Commissioner’s Cup this season. He was scoreless in three games, averaging 2.7 minutes. With imports playing multiple positions, Fajardo was lost in the shuffle. He was just too short to make a difference at the four spot. But Road Warriors coach Frankie Lim kept the faith. In the offseason, NLEX unloaded Kent Salado, Hesed Gabo and Clint Doliguez while retiring Asi Taulava and trading away Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser. Lim brought in veterans Ato Ular and Baser Amer to join rookies Fajardo, Richie Rodger, Enoch Valdez, Edgar Charcos and Jhan Nermal.

This Philippine Cup, Fajardo sat out NLEX’ first two games then came off the bench to score six against Meralco and two against Converge with the Road Warriors winning both games. Last Wednesday, Lim couldn’t call the shots against Blackwater as he had hurt his wrist in an accident at practice the day before. “Natamaan ng bola, parang na hyper-extend,” he said. “When I woke up the next morning, di ko matiis ang sakit and I had to take pain killers. Sana sprain lang.” Lim asked lead assistant coach Jong Uichico to take over the reins.

The game featured the league’s top two defensive squads and it went down to the wire. While Blackwater played a big lineup, NLEX went small, leaving the door open for Fajardo to work his magic. The Road Warriors ran the floor, set the pace and used quickness to counter a size disadvantage. NLEX dazzled with 25 assists, eight over its average, and used a balanced attack to win, 103-97. Six players scored in double figures with Fajardo notching a career-high 14 points to go with four rebounds and three assists in 31:37 minutes. While Robert Bolick led the charge with 21 points, the win wouldn’t have been possible if Fajardo hadn’t delivered.

Lim said it was NLEX’ fifth game in 12 days so he promised a four-day break if the Road Warriors won. “Deserve naman nila,” he said. “Jong stuck with our plan to play small ball. Nahirapan sila to match up. Nermal saved us at one point in the game (13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter), Fajardo played the game of his life and Bolick did it again.” Another contributor was Amer who registered his second straight double figure points. NLEX won’t be back in action until April 6 against Magnolia so Lim has a lot of time to heal before facing the Chicken Timplados Hotshots. Meanwhile, he’s enjoying NLEX’ 4-1 start.