Hoping to make a mark in basketball

MANILA, Philippines - A pretty 5’6” hoopster from the International School Manila in Fort Bonifacio hopes to make a mark in basketball here in the Philippines despite a lack of leagues for female players.

Seventeen-year-old Victoria “Tori” Madrigal has the ability to play the sport despite her height and, in fact, she has played in a lot of basketball leagues such as the Metro Manila Basketball League (MMBL), ISSA, Hardeman Cup and the Interscholastic Association of Southeast Asian Schools.

Tori first learned how to play basketball in 2011. She is now a third year high school student at ISM.

Her coach Doug McQueen was impressed with Tori’s excellent skills during the tryouts so he took her in without hesitation.

“At that point several years ago, I already saw in her so much potentials as a player and as the years passed on, she had become not only a star player but as the leader of the team. She just loves everyone in the team that she treats them all as her sisters,” coach Doug says.

Ever since she began playing, Tori has received numerous awards such as the MVP of the ISSA in 2013, MVP in the Hardeman Cup in 2013 and 2014 and being included in the Mythical Five in the IASAS tournament in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

She also represented her school to compete in the Hardeman Cup and placed runner-up in the IASAS against such competition from other branches of the International School such as Jakarta, Taipei, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

And this season, Tori has been chosen as the MVP in the high school women’s division of the MMBL.

Because of her impressive statistics, three UAAP schools — including reigning champs National University — have expressed interest in recruiting her services. But she hasn’t decided yet since she is focused on finishing her high school studies at ISM.

In fact, after school, Tori makes sure that she goes home to study while also continuing with her training on the court with the help of her strength and conditioning coach Chris Gavina, a trainer for PBA teams Kia and Globalport.

Tori’s favorite team is Ateneo because her father Gerard is an alumnus of the school. And it’s not surprising that her favorite volleyball player is Ateneo lady spiker Alyssa Valdez while Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls is her NBA idol.

With such talent, it won’t be a surprise if Tori will emerge as one of the top collegiate female basketball prospects in the country.