International Stints of Animam, Fjardo: A Big Boost to Philippine Women's Basketball

If there's one good thing that 2019 showed us, it's that the women's basketball in the Philippines has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success especially during the 2019 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games where both 5x5 and 3x3 women's national teams took the gold medal in front of the home crowd- a big first for women's basketball in the country. And after clinching the gold medal last year, Coach Patrick Aquino said that he was hoping that the success of the Filipinas during the SEA Games would be the start of greater things to come for women's basketball. And greater things did come.  

Earlier this month Jack Animam, who missed the six-peat run of the National University Lady Bulldogs in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) due to an eye injury, announced her decision to take her talents overseas as she is set to play for the Shih Hsin University Tigers in the University Basketball Association in Taiwan. Animam, who is also an integral part of the national team, even shared that most players who came out of the basketball program of the said university turned out to be highly-touted players once they turned professionals in Taiwan. As if Animam isn't already a touted player out of the UAAP as played an important to establishing what is now the longest winning streak in the collegiate level which stands at 96 straight wins. And, a UAAP Most Valuable Player award back in Season 80. And Jack Animam isn't the only Filipina baller who is about to spread her wings abroad. 

Ella Fajardo, a key member of the 3x3 national team, is also taking her act abroad as she recently made a commitment that she will play for Fairleigh Dickinson University which is one of the schools that compete in Division I of the US National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). What makes this move by Fajardo interesting is the fact that the Lady Bulldogs have said to be targeting Fajardo to play for NU in hopes of sustaining their dominance in the UAAP women's basketball. 

The good news though: both Animam and Fajardo made the assurance that yes, they are all-in for the women's national team program as her future stint in the national team played a big role in Ella Fajardo's decision to ball in the United States. In the case of Jack Animam, Patrick Aquino, the head coach and program director of the women's national team recently shared that there's already an understanding with the Tigers' coach that Animam will be allowed to don the colors of the Philippines when the call is made. 

The impending international stints of both Animam and Fajardo are an additional boost to women's basketball in the country as both basketball players will be exposed to different brands and styles of playing the game which in turn, could help in the growth of their games and more importantly, help them become better players in time for their time wear the colors of the flag. More importantly, players such as Animam, Fajardo, and Japan-bound Thirdy Ravena getting the chance to play internationally will open more opportunities for Filipino players not just to show that Filipinos can play ball but to be able to push their games to the next level. 

Photo is from spin.ph