By Sandeep Chandok (@sandeepchandok):
It’s an uncommon sight in Division I basketball, but San Jose State’s roster features something no other Mountain West roster does, a Filipino player.
A freshman from James Logan High School in Union City, Calif., Ryan Parilla fully embraces his Pacific Islander background despite being born in the United States.
“It means a lot representing my family, myself and just representing the Filipino culture,” Parilla said. “I just have a lot of pride being Filipino.”
Parilla hasn’t been to his homeland since he was six years old, but personifies Filipino customs to the fullest. And though October commemorates the country of over 100 million as it is Filipino Heritage Month, it’s an observance Parilla was completely unaware of.
“I didn’t even know,” he said surprised. “But it feels really good to have this month dedicated to us with the fact that I’m playing at this level.”
Competition is fierce in college basketball, and division levels are a depiction of a school’s student population and ability to offer a certain amount of sports for each gender, male and female.
SJSU’s enrollment of 30,000 allows it to offer the required 14 sports (seven each gender or six male and eight female) to qualify it as a D-I school.
Of the 30,000, hundreds are Pacific Islander and are just discovering Parilla is a member of SJSU’s basketball program.
“I had no idea that there was a Filipino player on the team,” said Jose Carlo Sarmiento, a senior Filipino student. “I think it is pretty cool that there is a proud Pinoy playing for the Spartans.”
Parilla feels honored to play for San Jose State and represent a county that is obsessed with basketball.
According to philstar.com, the fast-paced and electric sport is the most popular in the Philippines, which has it’s own basketball league, the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
“When I went to the Philippines, I watched a little bit of the pros and a couple of the lower levels,” Parilla said. “One thing I liked about it was the atmosphere was always really packed and the crowd’s always into it. Everybody there loves basketball.”
Despite the adoration for the game, Filipinos are scarce in American basketball both at the collegiate and professional ranks because their nation is among the shortest in average height in the world.
“Filipinos are overlooked because they’re Asian,” Parilla said. “They’re not as tall or as physically built as other ethnicities.”
At 5-foot-10, Parilla is far above the average height in the Philippines of about 5-foot-4, but far below the average height of Division I basketball players, 6-foot-5.
Though his vertical stature might be lacking, the family structure Parilla has backing him in his first year at SJSU is making his transition from high school to college easier. Being just 23 miles south of his home also helps.
“My parents influenced me the most in playing basketball,” Parilla said. “They’ve always supported me and they’ve done everything in their will to get me to this stage.
“My parents and brother and sister are doing everything they can to get all the local family members to come out and support. They’re sending out game schedules so I can have the support I need.”
With a long collegiate career coming, Parilla has time to develop his game as he builds off a 14.3 ppg average in his senior year of high school. And though many D-I players have NBA aspirations, the PBA is intriguing for the first-year guard.
“That’s one of my goals,” Parilla said on the possibility of playing in the Philippines. “I just want go there and hopefully inspire others and make a name for myself.”