At the age of 29, Dominick Fajardo is living his dream.
Little does anyone know that Fajardo has been with NLEX for the past five years.
The 6-foot guard has been working at Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation as a security officer.
Despite his day job, his love for the game has never faded.
“Mahal ko talaga ang basketball, ‘yan ang unang pag-ibig ko,” said the soft-spoken player from Bulacan.
Fajardo is a graduate of Bulacan State University. After completing his career there and obtaining a degree, he started working for NLEX.
Nevertheless, he continued to play in weekend leagues, including representing Bulacan in NBL-Pilipinas.
His biggest breakthrough so far came in 2022 when he was called up to play for NLEX’s 3×3 team, Cavitex.
(C) PBA Images
“Nanibago ako sa mga patakaran doon, pero nakapag-adjust din naman ako. Malaking bagay sa career ko ang PBA 3×3 dahil doon ako nakilala kahit papaano. Nakasali pa ako sa isang pandaigdigang paligsahan,” expressed Fajardo.
With the PBA 3×3 in its off-season, NLEX head coach Frankie Lim decided to include him in the 5-on-5 team for the ongoing PBA on Tour.
(C) PBA Images
Admittedly, Fajardo never thought that it would happen.
“Overwhelm ako kasi pangarap na natupad na makapaglaro ng 5-on-5 kahit sa On Tour pa lang,” he said.
Undoubtedly, he is a natural.
In the two games he has played, he is averaging 12.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.
And his hard work has not gone unnoticed, as fans on social media have been raving about his playing style.
But the work is not yet done for Fajardo, as he hopes to one day play in a regular season game.
“Siguro, worth it ‘yung hard work, ‘yun lang, worth it ‘yung hard work.”
As seen on ArangkadaNLEX.com
