Filipino-American Chanelle Molina took a step closer to her WNBA dream when the Indiana Fever signed her to a training camp contract early this month.
Molina, a 5-foot-9 guard who's currently playing for the Norrköping Dolphins in Sweden, is excited about the prospect of representing the Philippines in the biggest women's basketball league.
"It's an honor. I'm not only representing Hawaii where I was born and raised. I'm also representing my culture, the Filipino community, and all the young girls wanting to be in my position," said Molina.
Following a stellar collegiate career with the Washington State Cougars, Molina was not picked in the 2020 WNBA Draft. She recalled that she had very high hopes that she would hear her name while watching the draft with her sisters and friends in her dorm room.
"My sisters actually had their phones out, ready to record my reaction. Then the draft was over and I didn't hear my name get called. A mix of emotions was running through me. I was angry, sad, disappointed," she said.
Molina hit a bump in the road before her professional career even began, and it was extra challenging that it all happened during a global pandemic. Her agent had a hard time finding teams for her because of the coronavirus restrictions. As she put her dream on hold, Molina had to keep in shape and work out on her own until the right opportunity came.
"I was just doing stuff on my own, just shooting outdoors, out on the basketball court by myself. Finally at the end of September, I get a call from my agent and he said that I'll be signing in Sweden," said Molina. "I just wanted to play somewhere. In the back of my mind, the WNBA is always a dream, but I just had to come to the conclusion that I'm gonna have to take a different path and do the best that I can to be better."
Molina immediately made an impact on the Norrköping Dolphins in the Basketligan dam, averaging 17.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.8 steals in 17 games. She ranks 12th in the league in both scoring and assists, and the Fever took notice of her growth and development.
“Chanelle recorded an excellent career at Washington State in the very challenging Pac-12 Conference. She is a skilled and versatile guard who will bring high energy and competitiveness to our training camp,” Fever head coach Marianne Stanley said in a team statement. “She is having a great year overseas in Sweden this season because of how she has continued to improve.”
Video courtesy of WNBA/Indiana Fever
The 22-year-old Molina had to take an alternative route toward her WNBA dream. Now that the road has been re-opened for her, she vows to take advantage of the opportunity.
"This whole thing of me not getting drafted, it's a very humbling experience. It just fueled me to want to keep getting better. I got a lot of text from my family back home saying 'I'm sorry to hear that you didn't make it' and stuff like that, and they just said that they're proud of me. I just want to make them even more proud of me. So I'm gonna keep doing what I do and just keep getting better," she said.
Molina is grateful that her coaches in Sweden are willing to help her prepare for the training camp, giving her tips on how to improve her game during practices.
"I've been working on a lot of pick and roll situations -- soft hedging, hard hedging, basketball strategies like that," she said. "Mentally, I'm also preparing. The WNBA has a lot of great athletes, a lot of bigger, stronger, faster athletes. So I just gotta wrap my head around the idea that I'll be going against them. I've been working hard to be in shape and be prepared when training camp comes."
Molina will be the first-ever Filipino in the WNBA if she makes the Fever lineup for the upcoming season. Knowing that she will have the support of an entire basketball-crazy country makes her more motivated to give her best and perform well in the training camp.
"It gives me fuel to wanna be the best player that I can be," said Molina. "I heard about Shoni Schimmel, she was the first Native American to be in the WNBA and she inspired all those people, and they all came out to support her games and stuff like that. I'm excited to be the same [for the Filipino community]."
