De Jesus hopes to bring winning experience, relentlessness to Gilas

MANILA, June 15 ------ Vanessa de Jesus will finally don the national team colors. After officially announcing her commitment to the Philippine women’s national basketball team, Duke University guard de Jesus is hoping that she will be able to bring her winning experience to the squad as they compete in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in Australia. "I've always been a winner since high school," said the 21-year-old in an online press conference on Tuesday. "I’ve won state championships, I’ve won in AAU, and I think that experience and the relentlessness to win is something that I can bring to the table. And just competing and always giving it my all is something I value about my skillset and hope to bring to the team," she added.

As a floor general, De Jesus shared that she already has an idea of how the Pinay hoopers play, and it will now be up to her to take on the task of adjusting and contributing to what the team needs. “They do a lot of ball-screen games, they like to play fast, and they’re a very tough, hard-nosed team which is something I like. They love to compete and love to always put it out there so I just hope to be a part of it and bring what I bring to the table and hopefully, it’ll be a good time out there”, she said.

To achieve this will be a challege, but De Jesus knows how she can insert herself with the team as she joins head coach Patrick Aquino and the rest of the Gilas Women’s squad later this week. “Chemistry is so important, building relationships on and off the court,” she said. So I’m gonna do everything I can to hang out with them as much as I can. And in practice, just learning about my teammates. How do they play? What spots they like, that’s something I pride myself on, just being able to understand my teammates and as a point guard, knowing how to help them become the best they can,” she explained. “It’s just using that quality time to get to know them as a person and as a player I think will help me build that chemistry before we start playing,” she added.

Aside from winning, the 5-foot-8 guard also hopes that the experience of suiting up for the Philippines will help her as she continues to build her dreams as a player. “Growing as a leader – It’s something that I always try to get better at and hopefully bring back here, coming back to Duke,” she said. “As a player, just the pace of the whole competition is a different level, and hoping to learn that style of play and compete with some of the best players in the world, I hope it will get me stronger and smarter.”

As for her commitment to the program, De Jesus revealed that it is for the long run. “As long as the time works, I’m always excited to play and represent my culture and my family so this is not the last of me you guys will see for sure,” she explained.

Gilas will be facing Australia on June 26, and also in their list of assignments in the Group stage are Japan and Chinese Taipei as they look to book a ticket in the Paris 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The FIBA Women's Asia Cup runs from June 26 to July 2.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com