Former Far Eastern University (FEU) women’s basketball standout Clare Castro is one of the additions for the Parañaque Lady Aces in the 2021 Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL).

She did not go through the draft process as she was directly hired by the said team as part of the 'protected list.'

Castro was awarded as FEU's Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the senior’s division last University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) season 82 where she led the Lady Tams to a Final Four appearance. She was also part of the Mythical Five for women’s basketball tourney. 

The six-foot-four cagebelle also represented the country in 2019 during the 30th Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

As reported by Spin.ph, Lady Aces head coach Jayen Cruz, along with assistant coaches, the team owner and Parañaque City councilor Marvin Santos, spearheaded the selection of the players.

“Sa pagpili ng players, as a team owner, tinitignan natin ‘yung suggestion at recommendation ng coach natin at mga co-team player. Ang maganda kasi sa isang team, may harmony. Hindi p’wede lahat sikat. Importante ang unity ng team (In selecting players, as a team owner, we look at the suggestion and recommendation of the coaches and co-team player. It is nice that in a team, there is harmony. It is not necessary that everyone is known. The important thing is the unity of the team),” Santos shared.

Former FEU Lady Tamaraws Allana Lim and April Siat were also part of the 'protected list' in the same team as Castro. 

Lim bagged the Season MVP during the 74th edition of UAAP women’s basketball tournament and represented the country in different international leagues such as the 2015 SEA Games and the 2017 International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia Women’s Championship.

The protected list of the Parañaque Lady Aces also includes Parañaque homegrown Kris Tolentino, Mardyn Tingcang, Carmina Reyes, and Adamson University (AdU) standout Jamie Alcoy.

With the league starting after the Holy Week, Lim expressed her desire to raise the bar high considering that WNBL is a professional league during the Parañaque Lady Aces’ media conference last March 2.

The 2021 WBNL will be the first season of the franchise to commence as a professional league under the approval of the Games and Amusement Board (GAB).

-Aimerose C. Atienza

(Photo courtesy of The UAAP)