Camille Naredo

WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty at the Araneta Coliseum for a showcase with Filipino players, March 11, 2025. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty at the Araneta Coliseum for a showcase with Filipino players, March 11, 2025

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Sabrina Ionescu

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/174176282386220250311-sabrina-ionescu-araneta-MD-3.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty at the Araneta Coliseum for a showcase with Filipino players, March 11, 2025. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty at the Araneta Coliseum for a showcase with Filipino players, March 11, 2025. <em>Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA -- Sabrina Ionescu will enter the 2025 season of the WNBA with renewed focus and determination, as she seeks to help the New York Liberty defend their championship.</p><p>The Liberty won their first title in franchise history in October 2024, defeating the Minnesota Lynx in a five-game series that went the distance. Ionescu had a signature moment in Game 3, when she knocked down a three-pointer that lifted New York to an 80-77 win.</p><p>While there has been plenty of changes across the league in the offseason, with several marquee players switching teams, Ionescu says her mentality will remain the same.</p><p>&quot;I don&#x27;t think that there&#x27;ll be any difference in my preparation and understanding of what it is I want to do every time I step on the court,&quot; the star guard told Filipino reporters on Tuesday in Makati. &quot;But obviously every year I&#x27;ve been able to improve and get better as a player.&quot;</p><p>&quot;So for me, I&#x27;m really excited to be able to kind of showcase how I&#x27;ve continued to improve and kind of enter this next WNBA season even better than the last,&quot; she added.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/3/12/salamat-sabrina-ionescu-hopes-to-leave-mark-for-future-ph-basketball-stars-0937">READ: Salamat Sabrina! Ionescu hopes to leave mark for future PH basketball stars</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/3/11/sabrina-ionescu-marks-launch-of-nike-sabrina-2-x-titan-1821">READ: Sabrina Ionescu marks launch of Nike Sabrina 2 X Titan</a></div><p>Ionescu earned All-WNBA Second Team honors last season and was also a part of the All-Star Team. The former Oregon star also won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA in Paris.</p><p>Defending the WNBA title is not the only challenge that Ionescu is set to embrace in the upcoming season, as the league also prepares to welcome the latest wave of talent from the collegiate ranks. The 2025 WNBA Draft is set for April, with the likes of UConn&#x27;s Paige Bueckers and Notre Dame&#x27;s Olivia Miles expected to be the first names called. Dallas holds the No. 1 pick.</p><p>For Ionescu, who was selected No. 1 overall by New York in 2020, the entry of new players should only re-energize their fast-growling league.</p><p>&quot;It&#x27;s exciting,&quot; she said. &quot;I think every year there&#x27;s a new kind of generation of athletes that kind of step into a professional level and are able to impact and change the game, bring new fans to the game, and grow the game.&quot;</p><p>&quot;I think that&#x27;s the fun part about playing in a professional league is the older players pave the way for the younger players to come in and kind of do their part and, you know, impact the next generation of athletes,&quot; she added. &quot;It&#x27;s been fun to kind of be a part of that.&quot;</p><p>Ionescu is in Manila for the first stop of her Asia tour. Over the past two days, the guard has held a panel discussion at Nike Fort, a skills camp for female players, and played a game with some local hoopers at the Araneta Coliseum.</p><p>Her visit culminates on Wednesday with the unveiling of a special basketball court at a school in Bulacan. </p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/basketball/2025/3/10/rising-womens-basketball-landscape-greets-sabrina-ionescu-in-return-to-ph-2011">READ: Rising women&#x27;s basketball landscape greets Sabrina Ionescu in return to PH</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>FULL INTERVIEW: </strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DOToqmaL3jo?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Sabrina Ionescu will enter the 2025 season of the #WNBA with renewed focus and determination, as she seeks to help the New York Liberty defend their championship.</p>

Sabrina Ionescu will enter the 2025 season of the #WNBA with renewed focus and determination, as she seeks to help the New York Liberty defend their championship.

After breakthrough WNBA title, Sabrina Ionescu ready for new challenges

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After breakthrough WNBA title, Sabrina Ionescu ready for new challenges

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Mar 12, 2025 03:01 PM PHT

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