Grace Ricafranca can still see the slab of concrete under the tin roof, as she remembered a trip to the Philippines, to see her extended family when she was in middle school.<\/p>\n
The details are vivid: the open air; the open-toed shoes hanging off the feet of locals running full court five-on-fives, under a metal canopy held up by rapidly aging homemade pillars.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody that was there was wearing flip-flops,\u201d Ricafranca, an assistant coach for the Point Loma Nazarene University women\u2019s basketball team, said. \u201cThey are just running fives back and forth in slippers and they\u2019ve been playing for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
A first-generation American, for Ricafranca, basketball is a bridge between cultures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a different experience to see the love of the game on that level,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Philippines being in the state that it is, you don\u2019t always have access to resources and places. Just to see the pure heart for the game and showing up to the court and seeing [people] falling in love with the ball going through the hoop was an experience for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricafranca\u2019s own journey into the sport started with her father, Dario.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy dad was the biggest influence in my life,\u201d she said. \u201cHe would record every Lakers game on VHS. I loved watching the games and becoming a fanatic. I have two older brothers; I was just trying to jump in with them. I loved what it felt like to see the ball go through the hoop and the competition.\u201d<\/p>\n
A 2008 graduate of Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, Ricafranca was named an All-League player as a guard.<\/p>\n
She then attended Biola University, graduating in 2013.<\/p>\n
In 2013, Ricafranca began the arduous climb up the coaching ladder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game of basketball and mentoring young women are two of my greatest passions in life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
After a season as the head coach of the Whitter High School girls\u2019 varsity, followed by five as an assistant at Biola, and two with Pepperdine, Ricafranca now heads into her second season on the PLNU staff, where she works in guard development, scouting, and recruiting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a very demanding lifestyle choice,\u201d Ricafranca said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely not for the faint of heart. You have to really have a strong why? The hours get long \u2013 there are some travel days you are gone 13-14 days at a time. All of July is recruiting event after recruiting event. For me, it\u2019s understanding it\u2019s not about those things, but the people you get to meet in the process; the impact you get to have on your program, and the lives you get to be part of and shape and mold \u2013 when that becomes your why and you love doing that, all the other things fall into place and become worth it.\u201d<\/p>\n
This July, Ricafranca\u2019s \u201cwhy\u201d became clearer, when she was given the opportunity to work on the coaching staff of the under 16, Filipino women\u2019s national team at the FIBA U16 Women\u2019s Asian Championship. The tournament took place in Amman, Jordan, with eight teams across Asia participating.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor me, it was an honor and a dream that I didn\u2019t even know I had,\u201d Ricafranca said.<\/p>\n
Because of the situation with COVID in the Philippines, the makeup of the team largely reflected Ricafranca\u2019s own upbringing. Nine players were Filipino American or Canadian with only three players local to the Philippines.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny time I can help these young \u2018Fil-Ams\u2019 be connected with their heritage and culture, especially through basketball is a huge passion for me,\u201d Ricafranca said.<\/p>\n
Ricafranca served as the team\u2019s offensive coordinator, helping create a dribble-drive motion offense. Additionally, she worked individually with the point guards and wing players.<\/p>\n
After going 11 years without qualifying for the U16 Women\u2019s Asian Championship, Ricafranca and the Philippines had a strong tournament finishing with a bronze medal.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we took our loss to Samoa in the semi-finals, the locker room was full of tears, myself included,\u201d she said. \u201cFeeling like maybe we let the country down a little bit was a weighty moment. But it was empowering to know we can lift each other up and come back.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tournament also served as a catharsis for Ricafranca in dealing with her own grief over the unexpected loss of her father to a heart attack, while he was on vacation in the Philippines in 2018.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it was kind of a divine situation,\u201d Ricafranca said. \u201cIt was unique because all of his family was there and they could celebrate his life. The Philippines was his home and he had plans to retire there one day. I am a firm believer that all things happen for a reason and God is in control of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Ricafranca stood alongside her team and the national anthem \u2013 \u201cLupan Hinirang\u201d \u2013 played before each game, thoughts of her father swirled around her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very emotional,\u201d she said. \u201cI was carrying his spirit with me and I know this is something that would have meant the world to him. This was the biggest way I could honor him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The tournament gave Ricafranca a lesson in what she called \u201cthe true spirit of the game.\u201d Something that she plans to bring back to PLNU as the season quickly approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most amazing thing is to see how basketball unites people,\u201d she said. \u201cI know that sounds cheesy but it\u2019s just different when you wear your nation across your chest. The amount of honor and pride, but also the pressure that comes with that. It doesn\u2019t matter where you are from or what your story is, but we all came together to compete and work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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