Gilas Pilipinas Women gets a much-needed reinforcement ahead of FIBA Women's Asia Cup.
Gilas Pilipinas Women will be looking to make some noise in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Australia starting June 26. And the team will be parading the highly touted Filipina-American Vanessa De Jesus in the tournament, which also doubles as a qualifier for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
De Jesus, who was solid throughout the Duke Blue Devils’ NCAA Tournament run in March, officially announced in a virtual press conference on Tuesday that she will suit up for Gilas Women in Australia.
The Fil-Am guard had previously led the Blue Devils to the final of the USA Basketball 3X Nationals, opening up the possibility of potentially being named to Team USA's 3x3 teams. Ultimately, however, the prospect of playing for her family’s Filipino heritage proved too enticing for De Jesus to pass up.
“I am thrilled to announce that I’m excited to suit up for the Philippine national team,” De Jesus told the media. “Two of the most important things in my life are family and basketball, and since I was young, I understood this. I understand how important family is, and with basketball growing up, I understood how much we loved basketball, especially our culture.”
Evidently, all those years being around hoops with an extended Filipino family have led to this decision.
"It [basketball] was just always around. The first time I got to play basketball was when my parents bought me a small hoop during Christmas, and since then I loved it and it’s been a huge part of who I am,” De Jesus continued. “So, having the opportunity to represent both on a national level, I’m just very excited about, and I look forward to going as a leader and as a player.
De Jesus will be joining a Gilas Women’s team bannered by Jack Animam, Afril Bernardino, and Ella Fajardo. She is scheduled to fly in on Friday to formally join the squad.