There are steps being taken to better men’s and women’s basketball in the country.
Just days after being named the new executive director of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, Erika Dy has already been busy plotting her next steps to help improve the country’s favorite sport.
Among them, of course, was enhancing the grassroots program.
In an interview with Sev Sarmenta in the One News' Long Conversation, Dy bared they tapped former Meralco Bolts coach Norman Black to help roll out the grassroots program.
“We’re flying to Australia next week to learn from their grassroots program. We’ll be there for four days. He’s going to Serbia to do the same thing,” she said. “And we’re going to have to combine what has been learned to have our own grassroots program.”
“His vision is to have a Philippine brand of basketball. We teach fundamentals of basketball the same way across the country. for the country,” she added. “It’s really more fundamentals, skill developments, because we want to produce quality players.
Plans to grow women’s basketball
It also became inevitable to talk about women’s basketball which has been put back on the map since coach Pat Aquino handled the national team.
When asked about what the things they have to do about it, Dy, a former player and coach back in her heydays, kept it simple.
“Marami-rami,” said Dy, who was the deputy director of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Local Organizing Committee in Manila.
Then she brought up the idea of finally having a professional women’s basketball league in the country.
“The industry is very young when it comes to women’s basketball. It’s gone a long way since the day that I was playing. It’s much better right now,” she said. “But we have yet to see a sustainable professional league.”
She has a point.
Instead of running a costly program for the whole year, which includes arranging tune-up games abroad, and recruiting players from collegiate leagues, such a set-up is ideal.
The Gilas Pilipinas Women, who played in Division A of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup, is composed mostly of collegiate ballers such as Camille Clarin and Khate Castillo. They are reinforced by players abroad such as Vanessa de Jesus from Duke University and Jack Animam, who has balled from Serbia to France to China.
But are the collegiate leagues enough?
“No eh. Parang sinabi mo lalaban natin college players natin laban sa ibang bansa,” she said, noting other countries fielded professional athletes.
In fact, Gilas Pilipinas got a beating when they locked horns against establish teams like Australia (105-34) and Japan (95-57) in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup back in June 2023. The Filipinas wound up sixth in the eight-team field, following a historic victory against Chinese Taipei. It was, at least, good enough to stay in Division A.
That’s why Dy’s point only makes sense if the country wants to get to the next level as far as women’s basketball is concerned.
“And ideal is we have something like the PBA. Tapos 'pag may competition tatawagin mo na lang sila, the best of the best,” she said.
Plans to help grow this game are already in motion, with the PBA reviving its women’s 3x3 tournament.
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It’s certainly a start for women’s play in the Philippines.