From one tough challenge to another.
Every place is a home court for Filipinos, and the Gilas Pilipinas Women felt just that in Australia.
It was that strong crowd support that helped deliver a jolt to the Philippine women's national basketball team in their opening challenge against the Opals.
For Vanessa de Jesus, who sparked a run in the second quarter in her first appearance for the Gilas Pilipinas Women, it was incredible to hear.
"It was everything," de Jesus shared after the game.
"I knew we had fans. Just finally hearing them, I'm so grateful for the love and support. Makes the game even more fun."
The point guard from the Duke Blue Devils made a splash in her debut, scoring 11 of her 17 points in the second quarter. She also made three rebounds, one assist, and one block.
But the host team ranked third in the world, proved to be too much. The Opals handily won, 105-34.
"Some shots were falling in the second half," she noted. "Obviously they were a bigger team. They made adjustments."
"We didn't react quickly on it," coach Pat Aquino admitted. "We practically lost rebounding."
De Jesus though is appealing to Pinoy fans to continue to show their support.
"Makes the game even more fun," she said. "I hope they show up every night."
Coach Pat Aquino knows there's another tough task ahead for the Gilas Pilipinas Women as they face defending champion Japan next.
"It's gonna be pretty hard. It's not always been like this," he said. "We have to really focus on that. Let this game pass and focus on that game."
"I think we have to manage all those lessons we learned in this game and hopefully come back stronger."
The Gilas Pilipinas Women will take on the Akatsuki Japan on Tuesday, 11:30 a.m. This will be aired live on One Sports and One Sports+.