Gabriel Fajardo

Gabriel Fajardo (24 March 1917 – 19 July 2008) was a Filipino basketball player who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England.^[1]

Gabby started his playing days at the Mapa High School at the age of 14. He also played baseball and volleyball. In 1935, he enrolled at UST where he finished his commerce studies. He shifted to education and was a member of the 1939 varsity team that won the Big three (UST, UP and NU) championship. After liberation, he rejoined the UST team in 1947. Gabby was named to the Philippine team in the 1948 London Olympics and was so impressive that upon his return, he got the distinction of being the first to be named "Mr.Basketball" by the Philippine Sportswriters Association. ^[2]

In 1949, he joined the PRATA team as a playing coach in the MICAA and led his team to the championship. With him were other outstanding players like Florentino Bautista, Nano Tolentino, Baby Dalupan, Ning Ramos and Caloy Loyzaga. In 1952, Gabby turned to coaching the PRISCO team (old PRATA) to three titles on the same year - MICAA, National Open and Challenge to Champions. ^[3]

References