SBP women’s basketball webinar draws huge interest

MANILA, Philippines—Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas is not letting COVID-19 hinder the efforts for the development of women’s basketball in the Philippines.

To continue with the evolution of the sport, the SBP hosted the webinar series Women in Basketball: Growing the Game in an effort to embolden players involved in women’s basketball and give them additional knowledge while travel is limited due to lockdown protocols.

“Developing women’s basketball is very important for the SBP,” said SBP President Al Panlilio.

“The aim of this webinar series is to help coaches in women’s basketball deepen their knowledge with the help of highly successful and passionate speakers from all over the world. We thank the FIBA office in Singapore led by Mr. David Crocker and Ms. Shu Ling Yew for all their help in organizing this series.”

Women in Basketball: Growing the Game was held on two weekends from Aug. 7 to 17 with an average of 257 participants per session.

The webinar series featured Carrie Graf and David Hebert, head coaches of Australia’s Women’s National Team and U-19 Women’s Team, Japan Women’s National Team head coach Tom Hovasse, George Washington University’s Jen Rizzoti, and Princeton University’s Carla Berube as the panelists.

“Helping the coaches is crucial because of its trickle down effect,” said Panlilio. “One coach who’ll have a better understanding of women’s basketball could possibly lead to dozens of better-prepared players in the near future so even if our movement is limited by the pandemic, we’re still finding ways to pursue the SBP’s goals.”

Topics discussed in the webinar series included psychology in coaching women’s basketball, developing offensive and decision-making skills, building team concepts, and coaching high-tempo basketball.

Coaches from Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, and Brunei also joined the sessions.

Jong Uichico, the head of SBP’s Coaches’ Commission, was surprised that there are a lot of people who are now dedicated to women’s basketball and are willing to push the sport forward.

“I was really surprised with the number attendees because this workshop was specifically for women’s basketball so it’s very inspiring to see that many people eager and passionate about pushing women’s basketball forward,” said Uichico.

“Our goal is for women’s basketball to grow. I know we have a long way to go but I’m hoping we get to the level of women’s volleyball in the Philippines.”