Fernandez was also one of the least athletic players to have laced on a pair of sneakers in the history of the PBA. He was too thin for a center who had to go up against imports who usually had more muscle and speed than he did. To be sure, there were many other players in his era who were a lot stronger than him. In addition, he did not possess a high vertical leap, rarely doing a slam-dunk during a career that spanned about twenty years. But these limitations were offset by the fact that he had an array of astonishing skills, a basketball IQ that was off the charts and mental toughness that enabled him to impose his will against opponents. Case in point: Fernandez, even on a bad night, could still cut down an opponent, by baiting him into senseless fouls or getting him to react in an unsportsmanlike manner to many pre-designed tirades. One broadsheet called him, upon his retirement, as the man "who could control every variable of the game".