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Destiny Calls for Figueroa
by Matt Zimmerman, Long Beach Press-Telegram
August 4, 2006
Ring, ring.
It's not every day that destiny decides to call.
Ring, ring.
So when it does, you've got to pick up the phone. Or have a family member
- who might be even more thrilled than you are at the news on the other
end of the receiver - pick it up.
And so it was when Moises Figueroa, Long Beach State women's basketball
superfan and father to LBSU point guard Karina Figueroa, answered the
phone and heard the news. The women's basketball national team in his
native Peru was interested in Karina joining the team for this week's
South American Women's Basketball Championships in Asuncion, Paraguay.
"I never really expected it, I always thought it would be a dream,"
Karina said last month. "I always wanted it to come true, but I never
thought it would be this soon."
As soon as Moises - who could be seen at nearly every LBSU game, home
and road, wearing a black LBSU sweatshirt and giving full voice to his
support of the team and his daughter - stopped "freaking out"
(Karina's term), he called Karina.
Ring, ring, again.
"I started crying. I hardly cry," said Karina, who will be a
sophomore at LBSU this fall. "If I have a chance to play more than
five minutes, then of course I'm gonna work my butt off."
Of course, when destiny calls, sometimes academics call also. Figueroa's
dilemma was whether to take a summer school class in physics or go to
Peru as the summer started.
Figueroa, who was born in Lima before her family emigrated to the United
States 14 years ago, decided to postpone basketball for just a little
while. Now, she joins 2005 graduate Petra Glaeser (Germany), 2005-06 senior
Fernanda Santos (Brazil) and recent transfer Valeriya Myskina (Russia)
as 49ers who have represented their countries during the three seasons
coach Mary Hegarty and her staff have led the program.
"(The staff) told me to have fun, be careful, be safe," Figueroa
said. "They told me, 'You're going to evolve into a mature, better
player.
Let it happen, just play your hardest.' They already know I'm going to
get something out of it over there."
Figueroa played 24 minutes Tuesday against Brazil with eight points and
four rebounds, and logged 37 minutes Wednesday against Venezuela with
four assists.
She led her team in scoring Thursday, tossing in 14 points in 27 minutes
against Chile. She also grabbed seven rebounds.
Peru went 0-3 in pool play and fell short of reaching the knockout round.
"It's going to be a good learning experience for me. I can't wait
until that happens," Figueroa said last month before leaving for
the pre-tournament training camp. "It will evolve me into a much
better player, I hope, and broaden my horizons of basketball."
For Figueroa, the opportunity to get back on the court in a competitive
game is welcome. She was the starter at the point all season for the 49ers,
but a foot injury midway through the Big West Conference season ended
Figueroa's season and sent her to the bench to cheer on her teammates
as they won a share of the conference title.
"I'm very grateful that the timing's perfect, couldn't be any more
perfect," said Figueroa, who received a clean bill of health shortly
after the LBSU season ended. "Obviously I wish that I didn't get
hurt, because I passed up a lot of opportunities this year. If they had
called in January, I don't think I would have let myself go with my injury."
Even after Karina was injured, Moises still led the cheers, proudly sporting
his LBSU Dad sweatshirt and remaining on his feet throughout games. So
what did Karina think he would do now that national pride was at stake?
"I don't know about sweatshirts. That's the minimum," Figueroa
said. "They're more like painting their faces-type people now."
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