Best believe Ava has got big dreams herself.
The future of Gilas Women is bright.
And that’s because of young queens like Ava Fajardo, a 15-year-old playmaker who plays with some old-school flavor. The pass-first marvel, in fact, helped the Gilas Women U16 team go unbeaten in the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship 2023-Dvision B en route to the championship—and a promotion to Division A action.
Needless to say, Fajardo is the type of hooper young basketeers ought to emulate—talented on the court, upstanding off it.
And, on Wednesday, during International Day of the Girl Child, Fajardo offered up some great advice for young girls into sports like her via a short video posted on the official Facebook page of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP).
“Hi, everyone, this is Ava Fajardo, a member of the Gilas Pilipinas U16 team,” Fajardo began. “On behalf of the SBP and the Gilas Pilipinas Women’s team, I just wanted to say, dream big, always compete, and play hard. Happy international Day of the Girl! Salamat, and mabuhay!”
Indeed, the U16 team led by Fajardo dreamed big—even after a shock loss in the very same tournament just last year that got Fajardo and her teammates thinking of redemption this year.
The girls aimed high, and they got the job done just as they hoped for because they competed and played hard all tournament long—up until the final buzzer.
That is quite the mindset for a 15-year-old, and it is taking her places.
If other young girls take Fajardo’s lead, then they will surely go places, too. They might even be the next big thing in women’s basketball—just as Ava is now.