Jack Animam wept after the first day of the 2018 FIBA 3×3 World Cup, but not because of their tough loss to Germany that happened prior to the game.
No, she wept for the state of Women’s Basketball in the country.
For the first time in her young career, the 19-year-old – who is the youngest player in the global meet – and her teammates Afril Bernardino, Janine Pontejos, and Gemma Miranda had a solid crowd cheering them on.
Perlas had a chance to impress a home crowd a year ago, but for some unknown reason, the hosting did not happen.
And even if the Philippine Women’s National Basketball Team is competing at Level I in FIBA Asia, they are not competing in the Asian Games – again, for some unknown reason.
The 3×3 World Cup was the program’s sole international tournament for the year, and only because the hosts are given an automatic slot in the tournament.
So when the reigning UAAP Women’s Basketball Most Valuable Player was asked about what happens to women cagers after the UAAP, she cried.
“Hindi ba ‘yung men’s, meron sila after college, meron silang PBA. So why not kami ring mga babae, eh pare-parehas lang naman kaming athlete,” she said. “So deserve din naman siguro namin na magkaroon ng semi-pro league, or league para sa amin.
“Kasi andito kami, hindi lang para sa sarili namin kun’di para sa buong bansa.”
As she cried, so did her teammates, who had just given their all against a taller and more experienced German team.
“So siguro, I’m encouraging everyone na i-support nila ang women’s basketball kasi it will be a great help for everyone, hindi lang para sa amin, kung hindi for the next generation,” Animam added. “Mas magbe-benefit pa nito. Kasi ‘di ba sa other country, at an early age tine-train nila, hindi lang lalaki, everyone.
“‘Yun siguro ang kulang sa Pilipinas, walang suporta pagdating sa women’s basketball.”
During that time, she was probably thinking about the sacrifices her heroes like Ewon Arayi had made just to make ends meet. She was probably dreaming about some of her former rivals like Danica Jose, who had to choose a different track instead of playing the sport they love. She was probably wishing that her friends like Bernardino and Allani Lim could just stay here instead of playing in Malaysia to continue with their basketball careers.
Now in the world stage, she hopes that their voice can finally be heard.
