Filipino basketball players interact with New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu in a basketball clinic in line with the 2025 Sabrina Manila Tour in Taguig City on March 10, 2025. The WNBA champion and Paris Olympics 2024 gold medalist is set to play with local pro players at the Araneta Coliseum as part of her tour. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Back in the Philippines for the first time in seven years, WNBA superstar Sabrina Ionescu received a trademark warm welcome from the country's basketball-crazy fans.

In a clip posted on her social media accounts, Ionescu greeted a throng of fans on Sunday night upon her arrival in Manila. The next day, she rode a jeepney to Nike Fort for a panel with National University's Camille Clarin, De La Salle coach Cholo Villanueva, and PBA icon LA Tenorio.

When she exited the building, she took time to greet fans who had waited under the hot sun for a glimpse of the New York Liberty guard. Fans -- several of whom brought Liberty merchandise -- called out her name and asked for photographs, as the Filipinos took the opportunity to have a moment with the WNBA champion.

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"To be able to come back here and see everyone in person and feel the energy, this is a blessing and something that I never take for granted," Ionescu told a select crowd of reporters and fans at Nike Fort, a few hours before holding a skills camp for female hoopers at the nearby Courtyard.

Ionescu first came to Manila in 2018, as part of Team USA for the FIBA 3x3 World Cup. Still a collegiate student-athlete for Oregon at the time, Ionescu and her teammates finished in fifth place in the tournament won by Italy.

Back then, Ionescu could still walk around at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan without getting mobbed -- though plenty of fans asked for photos with her. Her profile has risen considerably in the years that followed, and she has developed a following not just in the United States, but also in the Philippines.

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Ionescu's increasing popularity coincides with the boom of women's basketball in the United States -- a rise that is slowly but steadily being mirrored in the Philippines. While the women's NCAA tournament and the WNBA are setting records in crowd attendance and ratings, last season's UAAP women's basketball finals also saw a surge of interest and audience.

It thus came as no surprise to NU's Clarin that a huge crowd turned out for Ionescu on Monday, despite the heat and the intermittent rains.

"It feels amazing to see that so many people -- girls and boys -- are so excited to see a player of this caliber," Clarin told ABS-CBN News. "Because game respects game."

"And I think that it just goes to show that once you put women on that pedestal, people are gonna follow and people are gonna recognize her for what she is, and the greatness that she represents," she added.

New York Liberty star Sabrina Ionescu in a panel with members of the Philippine basketball community, as part of her 2025 Sabrina Manila Tour in Taguig City on March 10, 2025. Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

The women's basketball scene in the Philippines has already made great strides in recent years, but it still has a long way to go to catch up to the more established programs in the United States and Europe. Ionescu has no doubt that it will happen here, just as it did for them in the US.

"It's not gonna happen overnight," she said. "It's continuing to believe in the product -- what it is that young women are doing in this area. But understanding that us back in the States, we really believe that every location, everywhere, it deserves to continue to grow and pour investment and continue to have these young girls believe they can come out and accomplish whatever it is they want to do."

"I think it's just understanding that it will come around, and when it does come around, everyone needs to be ready for that moment, because it's gonna be big," she added.

The hope for Clarin -- and other stakeholders in women's basketball -- is that Ionescu's visit will hasten that rise and continue to fuel the progress of the sport.

"She's patient with the process," Clarin said of Ionescu. "And I think being in the women's basketball community teaches you patience on a whole 'nother level."

"But it's a blessing to be a part of, and I can't believe this is my life, and I'm so glad that I'm a part of it. I'm seeing women's basketball on the rise," she added.