This qualitative case study explored the resilience experiences of five rural Filipino female student-athletes, the Talaingod Lady Wakandas, competing in the Palarong Pambansa, through the lens of Garmezy's (1991) Resilience Theory. Data from semi-structured interviews with five main participants and five key informants, supplemented by photographic documentation, revealed three domains of challenges (Financial Barrier, Relational Burdens, Psychological and Role-Based Burdens), three domains of coping strategies (Resourcefulness and Collective Action, Cognitive and Emotional Reframing, Time Management and Endurance), and three domains of adaptive outcomes (Character Forged in Scarcity, Empowerment Through Faith and Achievement, Growth Through Adversity). Findings indicate that despite material deprivation, interpersonal adversity, and psychological strain, athletes developed humility, resilience, and a distinct fighting spirit through improvisation, collective action, cognitive reframing, and faith. The study extends Garmezy's framework by revealing culturally specific, collectively sustained, and spiritually anchored protective factors. Implications call for structural investment in rural sports infrastructure, flexible academic policies, and university pre-recruitment support for rural athletes. Divergences from Western literature on controlling coaching and gender inequality suggest that resilience in extreme resource-limited settings may operate through organic, necessity-driven mechanisms rather than formal interventions.