Gabriel Fajardo (March 24, 1917 – July 19, 2008) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player who competed in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

London, England London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

. Fajardo began playing basketball at the Mapa High School at the age of 14. He also played baseball and volleyball. In 1935, he enrolled at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Migue ...

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 the end of World War II, he rejoined the UST team in 1947. Fajardo 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. In 1949, he joined the PRATA (Philippine Relief and Trade Rehabilitation Administration) team as a playing coach in the

MICAA The Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association (MICAA) was a sports association which existed in Manila, Philippines from 1938 to 1981. Throughout its existence, it staged various sports and was participated by prominent Philippine co ...

and led his team to the championship. With him were other outstanding players like Florentino Bautista, Nano Tolentino,

Baby Dalupan Virgilio "Baby" Adam Dalupan (October 19, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Filipino basketball coach and player. Dubbed "The Maestro", Dalupan was best known for his lengthy coaching tenure with the Crispa Redmanizers and garnered a career tot ...

, Ning Ramos and

Caloy Loyzaga Carlos "Caloy" Matute Loyzaga (August 29, 1930 – January 27, 2016) was a Filipino basketball player and coach. He was the most dominant basketball player of his era in the Philippines and is considered as the greatest Filipino basketball playe ...

. In 1952, Fajardo coached the PRISCO (Price Stabilization Corporation) team, successor of the PRATA team, to three titles on the same year - the MICAA, the National Open and the Challenge to Champions.Philippine Basketball 1940s-1950s
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* 1917 births 2008 deaths People from Pandacan Olympic basketball players of the Philippines Basketball players at the 1948 Summer Olympics Philippines men's national basketball team players Filipino men's basketball players UST Growling Tigers basketball players {{Philippines-basketball-bio-stub