Gilas Pilipinas Youth players Sophia Canindo, Ariel De La O, and Ava Fajardo represented the Philippines anew as they were among the local contingent in Australia for the Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp over the weekend.
Playing with and against youth players from 19 different countries, the Filipina troika rubbed shoulders with the best of the best in the region as they also received valuable coaching and advice from BWB coaches Aron Baynes and Cynthia Cooper.
They also got a surprise visit from former NBA star Carmelo Anthony, who dropped by their camp since he was in town.
Mostly playing in the US and in Europe, the three Filipinos relished the opportunity to learn from different cultures with players from various countries.
“So I think that playing with some different girls from different countries is a big experience because I can learn their type of basketball. I just adjusted myself to how they play and now I can help them with the way I play too,” said Canindo.
De La O, in particular, connected the experience they had in the Asia camp to participating in the national team – as other Asian countries play similarly to the Philippine style of basketball.
“From being in the States, it’s very aggressive, the style of play. It’s a lot of physicality and also just playing in the Philippines, it’s very high intensity and fast paced so being able to apply that here,” said De La O.
“Seeing different countries, there’s 19 different countries here playing, it very much translates from the Philippines as everybody here is fast. Everybody has handles. Everybody can shoot and so, it’s just an amazing experience,” she added.
Meanwhile, even when they themselves and the other players don’t speak the same language, De La O and Fajardo shared the sentiment of connecting to other people through sports.
“Even if we can’t communicate, we all don’t speak the same language, basketball is universal. We all can connect with passing the ball, ball screens and everything. So it’s definitely a good experience,” said De La O.
“I didn’t know what I was gonna get into… Playing in the States, I play multiple different people from whatever background they come from and it just helps me to quickly adjust. So I just kind of apply that here in the game. Even if we don’t speak the same language, basketball is universal. She’s putting an orange ball into the hoop. So we all kind of understand each other,” added Fajardo.
All three players were part of the Gilas Pilipinas Women U16 team that got promoted to Division A of the FIBA U16 Women’s Asian Championship last year.
Meanwhile, Canindo and Fajardo also helped the U18 team move up to Division A in the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup just last June.
Apart from the three Gilas girls, Joaquin Ludovice of the Gilas Pilipinas Men’s youth team also participated in the camp with a total of four Filipino players in the 60-player event organized by the NBA, FIBA, and the National Basketball League in Australia.
