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Inside a busy March that cemented PH women’s 3x3 basketball’s status

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Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Gilas Women group of head coach Patrick Aquino. FIBA Basketball" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/04/06/20230406-pat-aquino-fiba.jpg"/><figcaption>Gilas Women group of head coach Patrick Aquino. FIBA Basketball</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA – At the corner of a coffee shop in Mall of Asia, UST Golden Tigresses head coach Haydee Ong watched her Discovery Perlas club on the screen of a six-inch smartphone beat the Can Tho Catfish in the semifinals of the VBA 3x3 Prime Nha Trang leg in Vietnam.Modern technology did its part in making sure Ong and her long-time assistant Arsenio Dysangco were able to monitor three different teams competing simultaneously in two different leagues in separate countries all at the same time.“Never ako nataranta ng ganito,” Dysangco joked.Back in the venue, Ong’s UST high school squad had just won the NBA 3X Philippines U19 title behind Karylle Sierba, while her collegiate Tigresses were warming up for their own championship match against the top-ranked Uratex Dream.The Espana side, which shut out the NU Lady Bulldogs in the semis, went on to upset the Dream, 21-16 in the final, with Kent Pastrana and Tacky Tacatac leading the way.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/03/28/23/adamson-men-ust-women-shine-in-nba-3x-philippines">Adamson men, UST women shine in NBA 3X Philippines</a></li></ul>Ong had wished for a three-peat for her squads, but Discovery – represented by Allana Lim, Raiza Palmera-Dy, Hazelle Yam, and Joylyn Pangilinan – faltered in the final to the Saigon Heat, 19-16 later in the night.Still, the silver medal finish on a 6-2 overall record was commendable, given everything the ladies underwent unthinkable circumstances in Vietnam. They first had a flight delay from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang. A regional power outage that delayed the start of one of their game days too.To make matters worse, former Gilas Women veteran Lim also suffered a left ankle sprain during their third elimination round game. But knowing the importance of finishing in the top two for an outright semis berth, the former UAAP MVP willed herself and completed all matches to lead them to a 5-1 slate.Now 34, Lim has always felt that options become limited for female ballers after exhausting their collegiate years. Those days, luckily, are gone, and they want to make sure to use their platforms to pay it forward.“’Yun naman ang ginagawa namin. When we play, and the more girls we inspire to play basketball, that is a big deal. Kapag napapanood nila kami maglaro, napapaisip rin silang mag-basketball, and minsan, doon naman nagsisimula ang lahat,” the former FEU Lady Tamaraw said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/06/23/fil-aus-basketball-players-nagchampion-sa-2023-nbtc-league">Fil-Aus basketball players, nagchampion sa 2023 NBTC League</a></li></ul>A week before they played UST in the grueling NBA 3X finale, Uratex’s Kristina Deacon, the country’s No. 5 ranked female FIBA player, along with teammates Kaye Pingol (No. 6), Samantha Harada (No. 8) and Ford Grajales (No. 14) saw action in the Basketball Thailand Super League (BTSL) 3x3 Championship.They were silver medalists in the Southeast Asian level invitational last year, and were eager to return to the podium. The tournament included China for the first time, which made the field even more competitive.Uratex made the quarterfinals for the second straight year, but unfortunately dropped a close encounter to Thailand’s Sriracha Eagle in the quarterfinals.Undeterred, the Dream flew back to Manila the following day and plunged right back into action in the NBA 3X preliminaries. It was here where they earned a slot for the March 25-26 main event graced by legend Jason Williams.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/05/23/brownlee-eager-to-help-gilas-recapture-sea-games-gold">Brownlee eager to help Gilas recapture SEA Games gold</a></li></ul>Losing never invokes a positive emotion for the ever-competitive Deacon. But as the former Ateneo Blue Eagle says, if it’s the way to raise the bar in the women’s 3x3 basketball landscape, then so be it.“There are so many teams that are really good. As a professional team, at the end of the day, it’s just us playing beautiful basketball, being able to inspire other girls the way we play, and hopefully the girls can learn from us, and we can learn from them as well,” Deacon said.“I think what we have right now is something we want the future generation to have as well. If kailangan na kami ang maging part ng journey na ‘yun for the next generation, then we want to do it and make the most out of it.”Grajales, 43, is the oldest player in Uratex’s stable. She has long retired from national team duty. Once, she was part of Ong’s selection along with Cassy Tioseco, Ewon Arayi, and more which won a historic SEABA Women’s Championship gold in 2010.When the prospect of having a 3x3 league dedicated for women became a reality, the Iloilo native laced it up again, not wanting to miss the continuous rise of the sport. She never thought being the centerpiece of a hoops event inside a major mall in the metro would be possible, yet here they are, enjoying the spotlight tantamount to when the Chooks circuit hosts FIBA 3x3 World Tour Masters locally.“Sobrang saya ko para sa women’s basketball. Dream lang namin ito (dati). Ngayon, naglalaro na kami sa mall, grabe ‘yung exposure, ito ‘yung start na mag-go-grow pa talaga ang women’s basketball rito,” she said.“Maraming mag-o-open na doors, so maraming susunod. Hindi nila in-expect na ganito pala ka-intense ang women’s basketball, kala nila sa men’s lang, so masayang panoorin talaga ang 3x3.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/02/23/gilas-women-bernardino-thanks-aquino-as-she-relearns-ropes">Gilas Women: Bernardino thanks patient Aquino as she relearns ropes</a></li></ul>For Deacon, witnessing the live audience react in real-time to every move boosted the energy even if playing 3x3 can get them fatigued.“Masarap ‘yung pagod because there will be a lot of girls competing, at the same time, people get to watch us play as well. Now that the venue (is a mall), watching so many people and seeing their reaction during the games means so much to us,” she shared.Four days after the who’s who of Philippine women’s basketball converged in MOA, the Gilas Women group of head coach Patrick Aquino, Clare Castro, Khate Castillo, Afril Bernardino, and Janine Pontejos flew to Singapore to compete in the prestigious FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup, having their own business to take care of.Over the course of two days, the squad equaled its highest finish in the Level 8 tournament, barging into the quarterfinals. In the process, the four stalwarts added 25,220 to the Philippines’ 3x3 ranking points tally, where the country is now 57th worldwide.Aquino has been adamant in bringing the country to new heights where it can be mentioned in the same breath as Australia and Japan. It’s a long process, but he assures the continuous participation of the nationals and the unwavering support of its stakeholders will not go down the drain.“Siguro in time, and until nandito ako, we’ll do our very best to achieve the highest thing we can achieve internationally. We’ll see to it that we can do more. Hindi naman nawawala ‘yun eh,” he vowed.“Sana ma-achieve namin ‘yung na-aachieve nila. I know these girls, and the future of women’s basketball, ‘yung mga youth, just continue ‘yung mga tournament, continue working hard, I think we can reach that level also.”<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/04/02/23/nz-shows-gilas-exit-in-fiba-3x3-asia-cup">NZ shows Gilas exit in FIBA 3X3 Asia Cup</a></li></ul>As the night concluded inside the coffee shop just next to the NBA 3X main court for Ong and the entire UST contingent that Sunday in late March, Uratex Dream owner Peachy Medina approached the former national team tactician, shook her hand, and congratulated her for a remarkable weekend.It was Medina who spearheaded the inaugural Manila Hustle 3x3 event in Quezon City last February, where the Gilas Women-laden Lady Macbeth Riots won the crown. She promised a sequel in the works, exciting local clubs.“Ang goal ni Ma’am Peachy is buhayin ang women’s basketball. Kapag mas maraming tournament, mas maraming laro, makakarating tayo roon,” Grajales said of Medina.Medina’s gesture towards Ong may not seem much, but it is a testament to how women’s basketball stakeholders are willing to set aside differences for the common goal of seeing the community rise together.International Women’s Month would eventually close. As the pages in Philippine women’s 3x3 basketball’s ever growing story turned, everyone will look back at March 2023 as a busy stretch that cemented the sport’s status in the local ecosystem.The results, tournaments, and off-court stories served as puzzle pieces for what lies beyond – a glimpse of the surface that has barely just been scratched.“We have more girls playing basketball now. We are very happy, especially me coming sa national team with limited exposure sa women ballers (during my time). The more games, the more exposure the girls will have, that will put our national team into places,” Ong said.<div>RELATED VIDEO </div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-ClcVOAKiEw?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

'Ang goal ni Ma’am Peachy is buhayin ang women’s basketball. Kapag mas maraming tournament, mas maraming laro, makakarating tayo roon,' Grajales said of Medina.