RP basketbelles: Perlas out of the rough

Asian teams, watch out. The Philippines' national team for women's basketball is for real.

Dubbed "Perlas ng Pilipinas," the team has been on the rise since the country's return from a FIBA-imposed suspension from international competition in 2007. It is managed by Cynthia Tiu and steered by head coach Haydee Ong, a former member of the women's youth and seniors squad until her entry into the coaching staff of former coach Bai Cristobal in 1998.

With the 7th Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) Championships for Women recently drawing to a close, the Philippines came out victorious and handily defeated the opposition by a distant 34.2 points per contest and decimated the top two teams in the Southeast Asian (SEA) region, namely Thailand and Malaysia.

Out of all the squads that the country sent out for international competitions, their current lineup may as well be the most dominant squad that has ever been assembled in SEA-level competition. In fact, the squad previously placed second to Thailand in the SEABA women's tiff in the same year that the team returned from the suspension.

Credit has to be given to the resurgence of the program after a power struggle in the leadership of the former national sport association (NSA) for basketball, namely the Basketball Association of the Philippines (BAP), paved the way for a reformation of the program which included a rigorous training abroad with the Australian national women's team and seeing action in a tournament in Doha, Qatar in recent months.

Not so high (yet), but mighty

A more tangible testament to the vast improvement of the program is their standing in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) world rankings, where they currently stand tied with Sri Lanka in 50th place. In the rankings, they only lag behind Asian stalwarts China, Republic of Korea, and Japan, who were the three teams that represented FIBA Asia in the recent World Championship for Women held in Czech Republic. Following suit is Chinese Taipei, Southeast Asian rivals Thailand and Indonesia, and finally Hong Kong.

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Perlas ng Pilipinas Women's Basketball beats Singapore at 7th Women's SEABA Championship (chronoramp)

In manhandling two teams that have already established themselves as contenders in Asia, it's perhaps time that the team would reap a useful harvest in exchange for hard work and dedication to their craft.

Though the squad has gained ground in the region, it still has to work its way towards getting out of the "B" division in international competitions and into the elite level in women's play.

Currently, the team is admittedly undersized against the much taller opposition, but Coach Haydee remarked, "We are a defensive team. What we lack in height we will make up for [in] quickness."

The most notable player on their roster is 6-footer Cassy Tioseco, a Fil-Canadian center who played under Coach Ong during her playing years in Ateneo de Manila University, is perhaps set to be one of the key players for the team in the low post.

Other members of the current roster are captains Pixie Valencia and Ford Grajales, team members Choi Borja, Ewon Arayi, Glo Gloriani, MJ Jacob, Bernie Mercodo, AA Adriano, Dianna Jose, Fatima Tolentino and Anna Pineda.

Candidate for naturalization, 6'3" Chinese national Xiaojing Zheng, is also part of the team but did not compete in the recent tournament due to the stalling of Congress proceedings that would grant her Filipino citizenship.

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Perlas Pilipinas captures 7th SEABA women's championship 2010 (SportsRN)

Stricken

With the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China on the horizon, it was unfortunate though that the promising and talented squad was stricken from the roster of athletes under the Philippine banner in the quadrennial event.

In fact, Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) executive director Noli Eala quipped during the SEABA championships that "We will work hard for the inclusion of the [women's basketball] team into the Asian games roster."

Unfortunately, the squad will have to wait another four years for a shot to gain glory in the Asian region. Nevertheless, Perlas can now hold their heads up high and be proud to say that they belong in the international arena of women's hoops.