SBP helps equip women’s basketball coaches

MANILA, Philippines — The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas hosted a webinar series dubbed “Women in Basketball: Growing the Game” the past couple of weeks in an effort to empower women basketball stakeholders.

“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.

Carrie Graf and David Hebert, who handle Australia’s women’s national and U-19 team, respectively, were among the speakers, sharing their vast experiences in the field.

Also gracing the webinar were Japan women’s team coach Tom Horvasse, George Washington University’s Jen Rizzoti and Princeton’s Carla Berube, who discussed an array of topics like psychology in women’s basketball coaching, developing offensive and decision-making skills, building team concepts and coaching high-tempo basketball.

“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,” said Panlilio.

The event was held on two weekends starting Aug. 7 and culminating last Monday with an average attendance of 257 per session.

“Helping the coaches is crucial because of its trickle down effect. 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 SBP’s goal,” Panlilio said.