HISTORY beckoned Gilas Pilipinas Women a year ago today as it captured the elusive gold medal in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.
The three-game sweep, capped by its 91-71 domination of Thailand, produced a first-ever SEA Games gold medal and raised hope that Pinay ballers are ready to raise their game and scale new heights.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench on everyone's plans, including what should have been women's basketball's long awaited ascent.
Despite that, the sport's proponents believed that we are in a far better standing compared to last year.
"It has greatly improved after what we have accomplished last year," said Gilas Pilipinas Women head coach Pat Aquino.
"There were plans for 2020 on how to sustain the development of the women’s basketball program, but unfortunately, it didn't push through because of the pandemic. However, despite the situation, we've been getting nothing but positive developments."
Former national team coach Haydee Ong agreed, saying, "In this pandemic, lahat naman ng sports nag-suffer and we're all uncertain when can sports go back to the new normal. But winning our first gold medal in the SEA Games paved the way for more opportunities for women ballers."
One big step forward is the granting of professional status to the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL), giving female players a viable path forward at the end of their collegiate careers.
"Having a pro league means there will be more players and more games for us," said Ong.
"This will greatly affect the experience, exposure, and most especially, a bigger pool to choose from for the national team."
Aquino is also one in wishing for the WNBL's success, hoping that the professional league will be able to help develop young players that can deepen the pool for future national teams.
A wider pool of talented players is needed to make the WNBL sustainable, Aquino added.
"I was a good thing that they formed and organized a league for women and I'm just hoping it will be sustainable," he said.
"We need to still develop young players to form a better league. Ilan-ilan lang talaga ang masasabi natin na magaling and can carry the league, so we need more talent who can expose the field to various high level competitions."
Even before the launch of the WNBL, Filipina talents have been proving themselves elsewhere.
SEA Games double gold medal winner Jack Animam is currently showing her wares in Taiwan as an import for Shih Hsin University, while talents like Ella Fajardo and Vanessa de Jesus have been tearing it up in colleges in the US.
Aquino also pointed to the influx of potential Fil-foreign talents who have bared their intention of joining the national team pool.
"There have been more Fil-Ams expressing their interest in wanting to join the Gilas pool. They are excited be part of the program and hopefully, once things normalize, we can continue what we started last year," he said.
Already, 13 foreign-based players are being eyed through the help of Fil-Am Nation Select of Cris Gopez.
Gilas Pilipinas Women isn't stopping there, with Aquino going on another recruitment trip in the US next week to identify potential talent that can beef up the national team.
"I know we need to start early cause as of now, they have already announced that we are joining the 2021 Fiba 3x3 Under-19 and Under-23 World Cups, and the SEA Games in November," he said. "If we can practice na in March, the better."
Challenging as these times are, Ong is positive that the momentum is not lost for women's basketball, and 2021 presents another opportunity to capitalize on this long delayed ascent.
"This year has affected us systemically, so we need to cure it by 2021 systemically as well," she said. "It's going to be hard for all of us to adapt to the new normal, but one thing's for sure: sports will always be part of our lives and we will persevere. We in sports will always finish it strong until the final buzzer sounds."
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