Many things happened over five days in Singapore during the 2025 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup, but perhaps the one that made the deepest impression on me was that 60 seconds I spent with the Philippines women's team in the players entrance during the bronze medal game presentation. And to be perfectly honest, I was close to them by accident... I was heading backstage to take photos of players running onto the court from behind. From that location I could probably have just taken the usual backlit, smoky photos when players high-fiving with fans. But in my rush, I could not find the opening of the curtains... Although it is also possible that I got there so last second that the staff simply did not let me in, as the Chinese team were already outside and we were only few seconds before the cameras turned live on them. I could not turn back either, because of the TV. I ended up hiding (surprisingly well) from the cameras behind the lights at the edge of the entrance lane. I was standing a meter or two away from the secondly introduced Philippine players, who were fortunately totally ignoring my presence.
They called three players, but I focused on the fourth. Camille Clarin (#21) suffered a serious knee injury during the second game and was not available for the quarter-final against Mongolia. The team had to complete the 10-minute sprint without a sub. Anyone who has ever seen a 3x3 game knows exactly what a handicap this is. However, the girls beat Mongolia to make it to the semi-finals. There were big emotions, smiles and tears, but those were not the moments that stayed with me the most. The next game was the semi-final, but against the Japanese team that played basketball with incredible speed and intensity, any extra emotional charge would have been too little to replace a missing team member.
For Philippines, the bronze medal match was their third game without a substitution in less than 5 hours, and the odds against China were not in their favor, to say the least. However, this was not noticeable even the slightest on entry; the team was in full focus, concentration unbroken even for a tenth of a second. It was incredible to see this emotion, the determination, the human connection at up close. How Camille was experiencing these moments, I cannot imagine. But I could begin to understand the immense enthusiasm and fanaticism of the fans of Philippines.
