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Gilas Women: After 4-year wait, Fil-Am Bambrick 'extremely happy' to get chance

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Levi Joshua Verora Jr.

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Gilas Pilipinas Women" s="" player="" Malia="" Bambrick.="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/08/04/08042023-malia-bambrick.jpg"/><figcaption>Gilas Pilipinas Women&#x27;s player Malia Bambrick. <em>Handout</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA -- After a four-year wait, Malia Bambrick will finally get her chance to suit up for the Gilas Pilipinas Women.</p><p>The Filipino-American forward is one of head coach Patrick Aquino&#x27;s final players selected for the William Jones Cup women&#x27;s tournament in Taiwan, which tips off on Saturday, August 5, at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gymnasium in the country&#x27;s capital.</p><p>&quot;I’m extremely happy. I feel like it’s a long time coming. It’s nice to finally be here, to practice, and to get to be a part of the team,&quot; said Bambrick, whose mother is pure Filipino.</p><p>Born and raised in Santa Clarita, California, the 5-foot-10 forward has been on Aquino&#x27;s radar since 2019, but had to go through several paperwork to finally make the trip to the Philippines.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/03/23/excitement-brews-for-animam-dela-rosa-team-up-in-gilas-women">Excitement brews for Animam-Dela Rosa team-up, Fil-Ams in Gilas Women</a></li></ul><p>Bambrick spent four years at Pepperdine University and would be the fourth leading three-point scorer of the program with 165 conversions. She then played a super senior year for Long Beach State University, averaging 11.6 points on a 33.6 percent three-point clip, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.9 assists.</p><p>&quot;It was a super good experience just to grow as a player and gain some new experiences, play against some of the best of the best,&quot; Bambrick said of her collegiate career.</p><p>Having trained with Gilas Women for a couple of weeks, the 23-year-old said the Filipina ballers play with a more physical and faster pace.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/01/23/animam-bernardino-headline-gilas-women-for-jones-cup">Animam, Bernardino headline Jones Cup-bound Gilas Women</a></li></ul><p>With an average height that is smaller than what she is used to playing with, Bambrick also noted having to adjust positions from guard to more of a stretch wing and forward.</p><p>&quot;I think it’s a little bit more fast paced than what you will see back in the States. Since everybody is older here, there’s more experience and more veterans on the team I can learn knowledge and experience from,&quot; she said. &quot; I’m definitely trying to get used to that.&quot;</p><p>Bambrick said it was her father which got her into sports. Growing up, she also immersed herself in soccer, but ultimately chose basketball to also have a pathway beneficial for her education.</p><p>&quot;[My dad] he coached me for most of my life until high school. Just getting that from my dad and his influence, he’s been a supporter of me in everything I do. It’s a huge motivating factor,&quot; Bambrick said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/01/23/jack-animam-signs-with-wcba-team-wuhan-shengfan">Jack Animam signs with WCBA team Wuhan Shengfan</a></li></ul><p>Through hoops, Bambrick obtained a journalism degree from Pepperdine, and is currently finishing her master&#x27;s in public policy at Long Beach State.</p><p>&quot;[I was] also into soccer, but for college purposes, and just the opportunity, basketball seemed like the better route to go.&quot;</p><p>Choosing hoops led Bambrick to her mother&#x27;s homeland -- a country passionate about the sport -- for an opportunity to represent Gilas Women and embrace her culture and heritage more.</p><p>&quot;I think that’s a huge part to just experience life here, get to know my roots that I’ve never met before, and I’ll be able to meet a lot of family I’ve never met before so that would be great,&quot; she said.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/08/01/23/de-jesus-suffers-knee-injury-out-for-ncaa-season">Vanessa De Jesus suffers knee injury, out for NCAA season</a></li></ul><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rWlOU8pee1s?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>

After a four-year wait, Malia Bambrick will finally get her chance to suit up for the Gilas Pilipinas Women.