Jack’s first sport not hoops

Believe it or not, 6-5 Jack Animam’s first sport wasn’t basketball. Growing up in Malolos where she was born, Animam said she played badminton before her M. H. del Pilar National High School principal brought up the idea of joining the basketball varsity because of her height.

“I was called to the principal’s office one day and I thought oh no, what have I done?” she recalled. “My principal suggested to play basketball. At first, I didn’t want because basketball isn’t for girls, it’s for boys. I was 5-10 and 12 years old. I never saw any girls playing in the PBA or NBA. But I gave it a try anyway. It wasn’t love at first sight. I had to figure it out. The first time I played, I was blown away kasi I didn’t know how to run, how to shoot. Malaki lang ako kaya tawag sa akin banban. I was zero. I learned day by day. I was like the center of distraction, not attention.”

But with tireless dedication, Animam got better and started to enjoy the game. “It was hard in the beginning, very tiring because we played under the sun,” she said. “Later, I realized it’s just a game. I started to play with a smile on my face. One day, the NU team manager reached out and invited me to train with the senior varsity. Coach Pat (Aquino) challenged me to get better. I woke up at 5 a.m. to train then went to class by 9 a.m. then trained again.” For five years, NU went undefeated with Animam in the middle. “Every season, coach Pat reminded us to forget the last championship, that we’re back to zero, that every team keeps improving so we can’t be stagnant,” she said.

After NU, Animam took up a Master’s course in a Taiwan university and played on the varsity squad that was also unbeaten. But Animam’s most unforgettable moment was playing on the Philippine team that won the country’s first gold medal in women’s basketball at the 2019 SEA Games after 16 misses. “The day we won, nakalutang ako, so emotional kasi we destroyed the curse,” she said. “We also won the 3x3 gold. Actually, mas mahirap yung 3x3, kasi 10 minutes lang, first to score 21 kaya no room for error. But I prefer to play 5x5. We showed sa SEA Games na we have the potential to be on top, we just need more exposure. Before the SEA Games, we played in the Jones Cup and FIBA Asia Cup kaya we were well prepared. Malaking bagay we’re in Division 1 in FIBA Asia kasi Olympic caliber mga top teams. We lost by big margins but sana in the future, if we don’t win, we lose by smaller margins.”

As an import in the Serbian league, Animam said she’s adjusting to the culture, language and food. “I miss rice kasi they eat a lot of bread in Serbia,” she said. But it’s her family that she misses the most. Her mother Erlinda is a health care worker in Malolos and they talk nearly every day. She hasn’t seen her father since she was seven but they’re in touch. Her father is a 6-8 Nigerian who is a DJ in Malaysia. After the Serbian league ends in March, she plans to return home and start training with the national team for the SEA Games in May.