Jjay Alejandro

Rodolfo "Jjay" Alejandro III (born April 13, 1995) is a Filipino basketball player who last played for the Phoenix Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and is currently an assistant coach for the Lyceum Pirates. He was selected in the first round of the 2018 PBA draft by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters with the eighth overall pick. In college, he played for the NU Bulldogs, winning a UAAP championship with them in 2014 and making the Mythical Team in 2017.

Early life and high school career Alejandro grew up in a basketball family. His father, Rodolfo "J-Are" Alejandro Jr., was a former amateur and semi-pro player who gave him the nickname "Junior Junior" which would later be shortened to "Jjay". His godfathers include former PBA player Mar Morelos, Rodolfo Jr.’s college teammate Jojo Castillo and La Salle-Araneta coach Jun Bosque. He didn't like basketball at first, but he eventually found his talent as a scorer.

Alejandro played for his home city Caloocan in the Jr. PBA tournament in 2007. Despite this, he was not recruited entering high school, so he tried out for the Mapúa Red Robins, which played in the juniors division of the NCAA. He made the team as a freshman. Keith Agovida of the JRU Light Bombers once scored 82 points on their team. They were unable to win any games in his freshman season, going 0–12. He was on the roster beginning in Season 76, but saw limited action with only 2.1 points in 6.6 minutes of play.

In Season 77, Alejandro scored 20 points off the bench in a semifinal game against the Ateneo Blue Eagles that forced a do-or-die game. NU went on to win the following game, and make it to the finals to face the FEU Tamaraws. In Game 3, he scored 10 points and made key plays on offense and defense during the second quarter and third quarters to give NU its first championship in 60 years.

In Season 78, Alejandro continued to grow as an off-the-bench scorer. He scored 25 points in a win over the DLSU Green Archers. As the defending champions, the Bulldogs were able to make it to the Final Four, where they were eliminated by the UST Growling Tigers.

During the offseason, the Bulldogs played in the 2016 PBA D-League Aspirants' Cup. They made it to the quarterfinals, where they lost to FEU. At the start of Season 79, NU started with a 4–2 record. In a game against FEU, Alejandro scored a college career-high 31 points along with nine rebounds, but they lost to close out the first round eliminations with a 4–3 record. From there, they lost five more games for a losing streak of six straight, failing to make the Final Four with a 5–9 record.

In his final season, Season 80, Alejandro had a new coach, Jamike Jarin. Jarin made him the Bulldogs' team captain alongside Matt Salem. In a win over UST, he had 12 points, but had 10 rebounds and eight assists. Throughout the first three games of the season, he struggled with his shooting, but contributed in other areas with 6.6 rebounds and 6.6 assists. He then scored 25 points against the Adamson Soaring Falcons, but they lost as he was the only one in double figures. He followed it up with 24 points against Ateneo, but they lost once again. In a loss to the UE Red Warriors, he had 16 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists, then followed it up with 22 points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals in another loss to Ateneo. A loss to DLSU then sent NU into the brink of elimination. In a must-win game against FEU, with NU down by 15 in the fourth quarter, he led their comeback and made the go-ahead win to keep their season alive.

Professional career

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Alejandro was drafted by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters with the eighth overall pick of the 2018 PBA draft. He signed with Rain or Shine for three years.

Against the TNT Katropa during the 2019 Philippine Cup, Alejandro made his first start and scored his first 11 points of his PBA career. In his one season with Rain or Shine, he only played 16 games, averaging 2.6 points on 35% shooting from threes. Rain or Shine then made him a free agent after that season with two seasons remaining in his contract.

TNT Tropang Giga Shortly after Rain or Shine let him go, the TNT Tropang Giga picked up his contract. The following conference, the 2021 Philippine Cup, he contributed solid play in TNT's backcourt as they won the championship. He stepped up as a reserve during the 2022 Philippine Cup as TNT had several injuries during that conference. These included double-digit scoring performances in wins over the NorthPort Batang Pier and the Terrafirma Dyip as they won five straight games. In a win over Terrafirma during the 2022–23 Commissioner's Cup, he scored 17 points, making his first seven shots before missing his last shot in the final seconds of the blowout.

Phoenix Fuel Masters On January 17, 2023, Alejandro was sent to the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in a three-team trade. The trade reunited him with Coach Jarin. In his first conference with Phoenix, he averaged 3.5 points in around 10 minutes.

In a win over NLEX during the 2023–24 Commissioner's Cup, Alejandro scored a PBA career-high 18 points, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter. Still Phoenix had a 6–1 record at this point of the conference. During the conference, he re-signed with Phoenix for two more seasons. They went on to make it to the semifinals, where they lost to Magnolia. However, in the following conference, the 2024 Philippine Cup, they were unable to replicate that success as they had a record of 3–8. That extended to the 2024–25 season, where they failed to make the playoffs in all three conferences and led to the replacement of Coach Jarin.

In December of 2025, Alejandro's contract expired and was not renewed. He then tried out for MPBL teams but did not make any opening day rosters. This led to him reuniting with Jarin, joining the Lyceum Pirates as an assistant coach under his former mentor.

National team career In 2011, Alejandro was the team captain of the Philippine under-16 team that finished fourth in the 2011 FIBA Asia U-16 Championship. One of his highlights of the tournament was when he scored 34 points with 10 rebounds and four assists in a win over Japan.

Alejandro was named to the "23-for-2023" pool, which was composed of young players for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. He was also part of the pool for the February 2022 window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

Personal life Alejandro is married to Ella Pascua, who he dated for eight years and is also his business partner. They have a son. He and two of his former high school teammates own a branch of a sandwich shop. He once served as the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman of his barangay in Bagong Barrio, Caloocan City.

Career statistics

College

Elimination rounds

Playoffs