Sabrina Ionescu embraces setbacks as she works on growth of women's basketball

Whether it's for a personal goal or a large-scale mission, Sabrina Ionescu believes success doesn't happen overnight.

The WNBA star applies that exact battlecry in her life as she both polishes up on her individual skills and helps further the growth of women's basketball across the globe.

In her five-year career with the New York Liberty, Ionescu has had a number of setbacks, including a heartbreaking loss to the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 WNBA finals that could have been her first professional title.

Instead of sulking over that hitch, Ionescu continued to work on her game.

It eventually paid off as the Liberty completed their redemption tour and captured the WNBA the following year while also helping the USA national team seize the gold medal in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

It was a year to remember for the 5-foot-11 sharp-shooting guard, and it's embracing those losses that helped her get back on her feet.

"Obviously your goal is always to win. I think being able to understand what it took to lose and what didn’t go right really helped us to win that year," Ionescu shared in a panel interview on Monday in BGC, Taguig.

"When you’re in (loss) that moment it feels like the world is ending, everything is awful. There’s one or two ways you can go, you can quit and just feel like you’re not good enough and complain or you can come back next year with a better version of yourself and continue to achieve that ultimate goal."

Ionescu also believes that the same mindset can be applied on a broader perspective.

The former top overall pick said what everyone in the women's basketball community puts in everyday, regardless of how small or big it is, is crucial in helping further grow the game.

"It’s not being satisfied and continuing to chip in day by day. One percent every single day. It’s not gonna happen overnight," she added.

"Us back in the States firmly believe that every location deserves to continue to grow and pour investment in and continue to have these girls believe that they can come out and accomplish whatever it is they want to do, whether it’s to play in the WNBA, play overseas, be the best athletes that they can."

—JMB, GMA Integrated News