By Jerome Lagunzad
For the second straight year, Discovery-Perlas Pilipinas stamped its class in the recent Memorial Day Tournament at the Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, Japan.
The former national women’s basketball team completed a successful title-retention bid, thanks to the unwavering support given by long-time benefactor Cynthia Tiu, the team manager and acknowledged mother of Philippine women’s basketball.
Enderun Colleges standout Ella Rodriguez, who hails from Los Angeles, California, emerged as the tournament MVP while Joylyn Pangilinan, a 19-year old Fil-Am from Guam, was also named to the Mythical Team.
“It takes a lot of sacrifice to prepare a team for an international competition,” said head coach Haydee Ong. “First of all, you have to deal with the different players’ various other commitments. Some of our players are already working and some are playing for different universities.”
Meanwhile, assistant Sen Dysangco deflected some of the credit to Tiu, who has been an advocate for Philippine women’s basketball since 2008, and the Discovery group of hotels and resorts.
