LUCENA – June Mar Fajardo remains very much part of the Gilas Pilipinas program despite his non-inclusion in the 24-man pool for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) made this clear on Friday and stressed that Fajardo’s absence is just an extended break given him after serving the national team for a long time now.

Besides, the Asia Cup qualifiers is only in its early stage that Fajardo could be included in future pools for the other coming windows, according to the SBP.

“We all know what we can get from June Mar Fajardo as he has proven himself time and again on the international stage. He has served Gilas for so long and will continue to be a part of the program,” said SBP president Al S. Panlilio.

“However at this stage, we believe that he (Fajardo) deserves the extended break. The wear and tear of chasing a PBA grand slam and spending his days off with San Miguel Beermen playing for Gilas will take a toll on anyone.”

Photo by: Jerome Ascano

On Friday, the SBP released a 24-man list as part of the pool for the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, a mixture of PBA players and some of the country’s top amateur stars.

Fajardo’s absence in the list though didn’t escape the eyes of many basketball fans.

But the SBP assured the 6-foot-10 Fajardo will always be a vital part of the Gilas program.

“Fajardo remains to be a big part of the future for the Gilas program. He will in fact be at his peak form when the World Cup 2023 comes along,” added Panlilio.

“We will need his dominance and his international experience, and we assure all his supporters that they will see Fajardo wearing a Gilas jersey in the near future.”

In turn, the SBP wants to give exposure for some of Gilas’ young guns especially with the FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers still at its early stage.

“We are looking to expose our younger players and work to build an up tempo team. As we said in the recent past, this is a development plan for the national team in preparation for the 2023 FIBA World Cup,” said Panlilio.