Jack Animam believes any game is winnable if the Gilas Pilipinas Women want it enough. The Philippines is in for a tough group stage at the 2025 FIBA Women's Asia Cup.
Jack Animam has seen a lot of basketball in her career, from collegiate, to professional, and international stints.
Having gone up against better opponents from all over the globe, most of which have been bigger, better, and more experienced than her, the Gilas Pilipinas Women stalwart has always had one mindset engraved into her mentality.
That is nothing is impossible in the game that she loves.
Meaning, even when faced with tall odds, there is nothing determination and hard work can’t do. Sprinkle that with a little—or a lot—of the Filipino trademark of “puso”, glory can be yours for the taking.
As she gets ready for battle with a younger, more inexperienced batch of players with Gilas Pilipinas in the upcoming 2025 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in China, Animam hopes everyone else subscribes to the same mindset.
“I want them to understand and to really, you know, keep it in mind that these girls might be bigger than me. They've been playing basketball for a longer time. Some players are, most of them are professional players playing in the WNBA, Euroleague, EuroCup teams. And we're merely a college player. But at the end of the day, it's just basketball,” Animam said after their final training in Manila on Thursday.
“We cannot afford to be intimidated with them. Because I think if we get intimidated, I think that's our downfall. But I have to remind them that, you know, at the end of the day, we just have to fight because it's just basketball. We just have to play the game. And at the same time, enjoy the game.”
Among the younger players in the team are UAAP stars like Kacey Dela Rosa, Yvette Villanueva, and Kent Pastrana, as well as youth team graduates Sumayah Sugapong and Naomi Panganiban.
Apart from playing her usual role as Gilas Pilipinas Women’s force in the middle, Animam is also tasked with a bigger and perhaps more important assignment as the team’s leader.
By far the most experienced out of all of them, thanks to her time with the national team and her multiple professional stints abroad, Animam will have to rally her teammates against herculean foes like Australia and Japan.
For Animam, it’s all about looking within themselves and getting motivation from the name displayed on their chest—Pilipinas.
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“[We] also keep in mind, why are we doing this? Because I know, like I said, if you care enough, you know, regardless of the excuse, I know we don't have the height, we're young,” she said.
“But if you care enough, all those excuses are non-existent. As long as you want it.”
The Gilas Women are seeking to keep themselves in Division A in the regional tiff while also eyeing at least a 6th place finish for a spot in the qualifying tournament for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup in Germany.
Other Gilas veterans joining Animam in the lineup are Notre Dame guard Vanessa de Jesus, Khate Castillo, Ella Fajardo, and Louna Ozar.
Gilas opens their campaign on Sunday, July 13, against Australia.
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