Ella Fajardo Explained

Ella Fajardo
Number:10
Position:Point guard
League:Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Team:Iona Gaels
Team Link:Iona Gaels women's basketball
Nationality:Filipino
Birth Date:15 March 2003
Birth Place:Bergenfield, New Jersey, U.S.
Height Ft:5
Height In:5
High School:Gill St. Bernard's (Gladstone, New Jersey)
College:

Ella Patrice Totengco Fajardo (born March 15, 2003[1]) is a Filipino college basketball player who plays for the Iona Gaels of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). She represents the Philippine national team in international competitions.

Career

Early years

Fajardo learned the fundamentals of playing basketball by attending a Milo-Best Center in the Philippines. In the United States she attended Gill St. Bernard's School, playing for her high school's basketball team.[2] [3] In her senior year, Fajardo helped her school win the championship securing her a scholarship at Fairleigh Dickinson University.[4]

College

Fajardo announced in July 2021 her commitment to play for NCAA Division I sides Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.[5] [6] The National University in the Philippines also tried to recruit her.[7]

Fajardo redshirted the 2021–22 season due to commitments to the Philippine women's team.[8] She made her debut during the 2022–23 season in a loss to Marquette, leading the team with 16 points.[9] She then got 14 points in a win over Cornell, and got Rookie of the Week honors.[10] That season, FDU lost in the NEC Finals to Sacred Heart and lost in the first round of the 2023 WNIT.[11] [12]

In June 2023, Fajardo announced that she would be moving to Iona University to play for the Gaels. She would have to redshirt for one year.[13]

National team

Fajardo, a native of Bergenfield, New Jersey, is eligible to play for the Philippines through both of her parents. She holds dual citizenship.[14]

Fajardo has played for the Philippine women's 3x3 team which won a bronze medal in the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 Asia Cup in Malaysia[15] and reached the quarterfinals of the 2019 FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup in Mongolia.[16] [17]

She debuted for the Philippine women's team at the 2021 FIBA Women's Asia Cup in India.[18]

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;" | |2022–23| style="text-align:left;" | Fairleigh Dickinson|32||1||20.8||38.7||38.8||81.6||2.4||1.3||0.3||0.0||1.8||7.8 |-| style="text-align:left;" | 2023–24| style="text-align:left;" | Iona|30||29||31.3||30.9||24.5||82.5||3.7||3.4||1.1||0.1||2.5||7.1 |-| style="text-align:center;" colspan=2 | Career|62||30||25.9||34.5||31.8||82.0||3.0||2.3||0.7||0.0||2.2||7.5 |- class="sortbottom"|style="text-align:center;" colspan="14"|Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[19]

Personal life

Fajardo runs a YouTube channel, which as of May 2023, has 125k subscribers.[20] She has her own name, image and likeness (NIL) deal through a company in the Philippines.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ella Patrice FAJARDO (PHI)'s Profile . FIBA Women's Asia Cup Division A 2021 . FIBA . September 28, 2021 . en.
  2. News: Naredo . Camille . Ella Fajardo eyes WNBL after NCAA career . September 28, 2021 . ABS-CBN News . September 20, 2020 . en.
  3. News: Morales . Luisa . US NCAA-bound Ella Fajardo reminisces pandemic-hit senior year in high school . September 28, 2021 . The Philippine Star . April 15, 2021.
  4. News: Li . Matthew . Ella Fajardo did not expect to be called up by Gilas this early . September 28, 2021 . Tiebreaker Times . September 20, 2021.
  5. News: Matel . Philip . Ella Fajardo commits to NCAA D1 school Fairleigh Dickinson . September 28, 2021 . ESPN.com . July 13, 2020 . en.
  6. Web site: Women's Basketball Signs Four to 2021-2022 Class . FDU Knights . September 28, 2021 . November 15, 2020.
  7. News: Li . Matthew . Ella Fajardo commits to D1 school Fairleigh Dickinson . September 28, 2021 . Tiebreaker Times . July 12, 2020.
  8. Web site: Cooper . Darren . March 2, 2022 . All that and a bag of chips: FDU women's basketball player is also a YouTube star . May 17, 2023 . North Jersey Media Group . en-US.
  9. Web site: November 7, 2022 . WBB Opens Season with 75-47 Win Over Fairleigh Dickinson . May 17, 2023 . Marquette University Athletics . en.
  10. Web site: November 14, 2022 . Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Weekly Release (11/14) . May 17, 2023 . northeastconference.org . en.
  11. Web site: March 12, 2023 . All Heart! Sacred Heart Captures Fourth NEC Women's Basketball Crown . May 17, 2023 . northeastconference.org . en.
  12. Web site: March 18, 2023 . WNIT Quest Ends in First Round . May 17, 2023 . The Equinox . en-US.
  13. News: Li . Matthew . Ella Fajardo transfers from Fairleigh to Iona . 26 June 2023 . Tiebreaker Times . 2 June 2023.
  14. Web site: 3-on-3 basketball proves to be popular event at Tokyo Olympics . News 12 - New Jersey . August 3, 2021.
  15. News: Ella Fajardo inspirasyon sa mga batang players . Ella Fajardo inspiration to youth players. September 28, 2021 . Pang-Masa . The Philippine Star . September 24, 2021 . fil.
  16. News: de la Peña . Leobert Julian . Filipina baller set to make waves in the US . September 28, 2021 . Daily Guardian . July 13, 2020.
  17. News: 3x3 basketball: Pinays advance to quarterfinals in FIBA U18 World Cup . September 28, 2021 . ABS-CBN News . June 5, 2019 . en.
  18. News: Micaller . Bea . Debuting Ella Fajardo vows Gilas Women have more to show after defeat to China . September 28, 2021 . GMA News . September 28, 2021 . en.
  19. Web site: Ella Fajardo College Stats. Sports-Reference. April 11, 2024.
  20. Web site: Ella Patrice Fajardo - YouTube . 2023-05-17 . www.youtube.com.