THE women’s national basketball team, Perlas Pilipinas, is shifting their focus on the 2017 Southeast Asian Games that Malaysia is hosting in Kuala Lumpur.
Fresh from their conquest of the Southeast Asian Basketball Association tournament also in Malaysia, members of the Perlas Pilipinas vowed to start their preparations for the Sea Games—set in August 2017—in earnest.
“The target now is the Southeast Asian Games. If we win the gold in the SEA Games, then it will be our ticket to the Asian Games,” Perlas Pilipinas Head Coach Patrick Aquino told Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate.
Perlas Pilipinas, supported by Blackwater of Dioceldo Sy, swept all its six matches in the Seaba tournament, including reigning SEA Games champion Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Aquino said the victory is a clear indication that Perlas Pilipinas will be in contention in the 2017 Sea Games.
But to make the team stronger, Aquino said management is eyeing two Filipino-foreigners or a naturalized player.
Aquino added that he will leave for the United States in December to hook up with players with Filipino blood and are willing to represent the country.
“We need tall players so we can match up, especially in the Asian level where Japan is now the No. 1 team. But if you look at China, it has players as tall as 6-foot-7 or 6-foot-8 or forwards at 6-foot-4 and guards standing six feet,” Aquino said in the session presented by San Miguel Corp., Accel, Shakey’s and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.
Aquino added that in the Asian level, the Philippines may rank fifth or sixth, so the target is to get to the top 4. If he could have his way, he would keep the core of the team that won the Seaba crown.
“This is our team. This is the core. We have the talent. We have players who impressed the foreign coaches. But what I really liked about this team was the way they played together,” Aquino said.
Joining him in the session were assistant coach Juli Amos and players Andrea Tongco, Ara Abaca, Chack Cabinbin, Camille Sambile, Cindy Resultay, Raiza Dy and Most Valuable Player April Bernardino.
The team paid a courtesy call to Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) president Al Panlilio and chairman, Senator Sonny Angara, after the SEABA victory. They also met with former SBP president Manuel V. Pangilinan.
Image credits: Alysa Salen