Sport | Basketball

Girls take centre-court

Despite the fast pace, women are also passionate about basketball

  • By Irish Eden Belleza, Web Coordinator
  • Published: 23:03 September 14, 2009
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: Hadrain Hernandez/Gulf News
  • Philippine Expats Basketball Enthusiast (PEBE) coach Syd Dela Cruz (centre) during a training session at Al Twar Park recently.

Dubai The notion that basketball is a men's sport is, well, a myth. While it is true that basketball is probably the most physical of all sports, it certainly does not make it any less a women's game as it is a man's game, says Syd Dela Cruz, a Dubai office staff turned Fujairah-based basketball coach.

From the outset, Syd's adventure in the UAE is quite exceptional. Indeed, for a 28-year-old woman to give up her day job so she can take up a full-time work as a basketball coach may sound normal in, say, the US. But women's basketball in the UAE?

Watch video: Girl's got game

Syd was a highly competitive player in the Philippines, having played for the Philippine Youth Team in various international tournaments. She also played college basketball and regularly competed in the Women's Philippine Basketball League (WPBL).

Two years ago, Syd had to give up competitive basketball when she took up a job in Dubai. Although her transfer to the UAE did not diminish her passion for the sport, she nonetheless didn't find any opportunity to enjoy basketball as much she wanted to because she was not aware of a women's basketball league in Dubai.

Her life took a major turnaround last January when one of her Philippine teammates invited her to play in a women's basketball tournament organised in Sharjah. Her stint in the Sharjah event opened an opportunity to realise her dream job - become a full-time basketball coach and player.

Immediately after the tournament, Syd was offered a job as a coach/trainer at one of the clubs in the UAE, the Kalba Ladies Club in Fujairah, whose parent body is the Sharjah's Ladies Club. It didn't take much time for her to make up her mind; shortly thereafter, she quit her job in Dubai and headed to Fujairah, where she is now teaching local children aged 13 to 15 the fundamentals of basketball, making her one of the few women professional basketball trainers in the country.

Related Links

"Actually, it is a bit of a challenge because they say that it is a men's sport and that women can't do it," the 15-year basketball veteran says of the challenge of promoting the sport among women. But she adds that she intends to build on the inherent curiosity of young players to allow them to experience the beauty of basketball and enjoy the unique challenges of the sport.

"I myself tried the sport out of curiosity," says Syd, who idolises retired Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) superstar Lisa Lobo, as well as sharpshooter Allan Caidic and acrobatic player Samboy Lim of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the oldest professional basketball league in Asia.

"I eventually learned to love basketball and from then on I proved that it is not just a game for men."

Syd, who hails from General Santos City, the hometown of boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao, started dribbling during her high school days.

She eventually moved to Manila and joined the University of Santo Thomas (UST), which has one of the top athletic programmes in the Philippines, and led the UST Growling Tigers in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).

At the same time, she suited up for Chowking in the WPBL, a semi-professional women's basketball league, which helped her further hone her skills. Her dedication and hard work paid off when she twice was named into the WPBL Mythical Team - which consists of the top five players of the league - in 1998 and 2001, while she was also picked to join the national youth team.

With her solid credentials, she is certainly perfect for her new job. She says her experience in competitive basketball is very important as it is her responsibility to pass on her knowledge of the sport to young aspirants and help mould their skills to a higher and more competitive level. But Syd also says that more than the competitive aspect of the game, she actually encourages young girls and other women to play the sport as a way of socialising and getting fit.

"After work, we need a way to relieve ourselves of stress, which can be achieved by playing basketball. It is good for physical fitness and is also a form of relaxation," says Syd.

"If you really love the game, you can enjoy playing it practically anywhere - indoors and even outdoors during winter."

More from Basketball

  1. UAE association gets a corporate boost

  2. Al Habtoor Group boost to basketball in UAE

  3. The heat is on

  4. 76ers win in fight to force Game Seven

All articles in Basketball

More from Sport

Gulf News
Popular in Basketball
Multimedia
Sport Editor's choice