What’s up, Ballers! Discodad has interesting news to spice up your day. A Hawaiian talented Filipina, Chanelle Molina, is aiming to be the first Filipina to make it to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). It seems familiar, right? Yes, you’re right! She has the same goal as our boy, Kai Sotto.
Hawaiian
Molina is the oldest of four children who was born and raised in Hawaii. Her father, Allan, moved to the United States from Ilocos Norte when he was 15 years old, and her mother, Roselyn, moved to Hawaii when she was 5 years old from Quezon City.
She comes from a sports-oriented bloodline, as she and her two younger sisters, Celena Jane and Cherilyn, have led Konawaena High School in Kealakekua, Hawaii, to volleyball and basketball championships. Coby, the family’s youngest son, was also a basketball player. At the age of ten, Molina’s uncles brought her to basketball by inviting her over to compete in their front yard with them. She became a major factor on her high school basketball team and was finally elected team captain as her talents improved as she began to beat her uncles.
Molina is a three-time Gatorade Player of the Year in Hawaii, as well as a three-time Big Island Interscholastic Federation Player of the Year, in addition to being a Filipino. She was inducted into the Enterprise Hawaii High School Athletic Association Hall of Honor after being named a five-star prospect by ESPN.com, the No. 36 overall recruit and the 11th-best guard throughout the 2016 class.
During her career in Pullman City, the 22-year-old guard began 95 of the 107 games she participated in, averaging 12.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.0 assists a game. Molina eventually broke through when she scored a freshman-record-tying 33 points in an 82-73 win over No. 7 seed UCLA, which was the greatest success in program history at the time.
WNBA
Chanelle Molina, who was signed to a training camp deal in early February, would be creating a path with the Indiana Fever.
“I’m very excited to make history and have that happen. I feel like I’m probably already an inspiration to the Filipinos out there, not just female athletes but Filipinos all over. I think I’ll be representing the Filipino community by making it to the WNBA. So, knowing that I have the Filipino’s community support is very motivating so I am going to do whatever I can to make that happen and a reality.” Molina said.
Molina, together with her two siblings, and a few close friends were looking forward to seeing her name called at the 2020 WNBA Draft, but her name had never been called by the end of the night.
“Disappointment, anger, sadness, frustration, all of these mixes of emotions just like came running through my head,” Molina said. “It bothered me for a while, … [but] I am firm believer that everything happens for a reason, I actually have that tattooed on my arm, so that was just a good reminder for me. Me not getting drafted happened for a reason, so I just knew that I was going to ball out in Europe.”
As down as she had been, she’s now getting her knees and head up. Ballers, these players like Molina and Sotto have their own dreams to fulfill and together with their dreams are hurdles. As many successful people say, you cannot achieve your dream if you are not able to undergo trials in life. Dreams are hard to achieve but satisfying to fulfill. That’s it for our latest news for today. Catch me up again in my next article!
