An icon in Philippine women’s basketball herself, Camille Clarin is well-aware of the effect of having WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu in Manila.
Gilas Women stalwart Camille Clarin is witness to the tremendous growth for women’s basketball in recent years in the Philippines, and with WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu taking the time to visit Manila in her offseason tour, things are continuing to look up.
Having the privilege to join Ionescu in a panel talk at Nike Fort in BGC on Monday, Clarin was able to rub shoulders with one of the biggest stars in the WNBA today, after leading the New York Liberty to the title last season.
After the rare experience, Clarin couldn’t help but fawn over being able to share the stage with Ionescu.
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READ: WNBA champion Sabrina Ionescu revels in support from Filipino fans during Manila visit]
“It was amazing to be in the same space as her, and to just hear her thoughts and her relay of things that we were saying. Yeah, there's no words to talk about how great that feeling was.” Clarin told reporters at the sidelines of Ionescu’s skills camp at Nike Courtyard.
Despite being on opposite ends of the world, there are a lot of similarities between Clarin and Ionescu.
Apart from both being competitive at their sport, Clarin and Ionescu also suffered similar setbacks in 2023, where they were stopped in the championship before redeeming themselves in the next season where they seized the title.
Sharing that experience made it more easy for Clarin to relate to Ionescu, which she was lucky to have sat next to during the panel talk.
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“Yeah, like she said, it's those losses, they're part of the game and I think that detaching yourself from the outcome and just enjoying the process of becoming a better player, loving the game. I think that's what I took away from the conversation the most," said Clarin.
“At the end of the day, we're all just athletes so for us to be able to be in that space and talk about that and share those insights, I think it's such a good feeling," she added.
As for what Clarin thinks the impact of this visit will be, she said that it’s a good sign that people are respecting women’s basketball more, especially in the Philippines where women ballers continue to face uphill challenges.
“Yeah, to see is to believe. I mean, especially here in the Philippines, the women's basketball scene isn't as glorified as the men’s," Clarin said.
“So I think for Sabrina to be here, the first Nike athlete to come into our (country) after the pandemic, I think it's great to show that they're really taking the women's game seriously now. And for them to put a face to the game, I think it's such a great experience for the young girls to see that with that work, with that dedication to the game, things like this are possible.”
Apart from the panel talk and the skills camp, Ionescu is slated to have more activities on Tuesday and Wednesday in Manila including an exhibition at the iconic Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.