Yves Dignadice's daughter Sophia eyed for Gilas Women pool

Yves Dignadice's daughter Sophia eyed for Gilas Women pool

THE daughter of the former PBA star Yves Dignadice is among the players being eyed for the Gilas Pilipinas women’s basketball program as coach Pat Aquino looks to infuse his pool with fresh talent following the FIBA Under-18 Women’s Asia Cup.

Sophia Yve Dignadice recently secured her Philippine passport at age 15, which makes her eligible for inclusion as the women’s program is in dire need of more players to integrate into the program.

Tiffany Reyes, 13, will be the only remaining eligible player  from the Under-18 team that captured the Division B crown in the Asian Championship.

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"Marami na (in the pipeline) especially one of the (players) is anak ni Yves Dignadice," said Aquino during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.

By obtaining her Philippine passport before the age of 16, the younger Dignadice could be playing for Gilas sooner, rather than later. Dignadice securing her Philippine passport was recently posted in the Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles as part of their information campaign.

The 5-foot-7 Dignadice currently plays high school basketball at Bishop Montgomery and she was part of the team that won the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 1 state championship last March.

The shooting guard also recently got an offer to play from different colleges including Cal State Bakersfield and Boston College.

Yves Dignadice

Needless to say, Sophia got his interest in playing basketball from his father Yves, who played for 14 years in the PBA with San Miguel and Barangay Ginebra. The elder Dignadice also saw action for the national team under Ron Jacobs during his Northern Consolidated days.

Aquino said he will once again scout for talents not just in the Philippines but also overseas to beef up the Gilas Pilipinas women's program.

"I’ll be going around the States in September, October just to start the whole program for the Under-16."