Jenesis Perin: A New Addition for the Future of Philippine Women's Basketball

If the Men's Team of Gilas Pilipinas has Tab Baldwin as their Program Director, the women's side has its own in Patrick Aquino. And like Baldwin, Aquino has been working around to improve the foundation of the team and included in his line of work is searching for new talents whom he will invite to join the team. And we're not talking about searching within the country alone. Aquino's work goes beyond the country, scouting for Filipina basketball players around the world. 

Last year,  Patrick Aquino was able to recruit a pair of Filipina-foreigner players in Camille Clarin and Ella Fajardo. Clarin started playing for the National University Lady Bulldogs last year while Fajardo's name has been making noise among basketball circles in the country as she expressed her intentions to play for the Philippines. And Patrick Aquino isn't stopping there.  

In his trip to Massachusetts in the United States, Aquino found what he saw is a literally a giant gem that could shine with the women's team of Gilas. That gem's name is Jenesis Perin, a 16-year old who is currently taking his studies at Lawrence Academy. Upon getting the opportunity to talk with the 6-foot-5 Perin, Aquino extended an invitation for Perin to join the country's national team, particularly for the Under-17 and Under-18 3x3 tournaments. in relation to this, the Under-17 Asia Cup is slated from June to 4 in Malaysia so the basketball officials in the country are prioritizing getting Perin to practice with the team as soon as possible as Jenesis Perin is yet to get her Philippine passport and visa,

If things are to go well and Perin plays well for the 3x3 tournaments, the women's national team might just be able to continue on their success following a gold medal finish in last year's SEA Games. 

Photo is from Tiebreaker Times