Vanessa de Jesus, a vital cog of the Duke University women’s team, can’t wait to showcase what she’s made of when Gilas Pilipinas Women compete in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup Division A in Sydney, Australia, late this month.
Expressing excitement to join hands with mainstays Afril Bernardino, Jack Animam, Ella de Jesus and Jhazmin Joson, the US National Collegiate Athletic Association standout will travel to Melbourne this weekend for a string of practice games.
“I can definitely see a lot of ball screens in games and they like to play fast and they’re very tough, something that I like. Again, I see that they love to compete and love to always put it out there so I hope to be a part of it and bring what I bring to the table and it will be a good time there,” De Jesus said.
The tournament will run from 26 June to 2 July.
De Jesus, whose parents are originally from the Philippines, was rated No. 37 by ESPNW in 2020 and last season averaged five points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists a game after playing 31 out of 32 games coming off the bench.
“Definitely growing as a leader. It’s something that I’m always striving to get better at and bring back here to Duke. As a player, the pace of the competition is on a different level so I want to learn that style of play and compete against the best players in the world so I hope it would just make me stronger and smarter when I come back to Duke.”
The Gilas Women team looks to do better this time in its campaign after racking up a 1-3 win-loss record in the 2021 edition in Amman, Jordan.
She racked up a career-high 17 points after a 100-49 blowout win by Duke over the University of Richmond in an Amateur Athletics Union game last 4 December in Virginia.
“I’ve always been a winner since high school. 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 and hope to bring to the team,” De Jesus said.
Blue Devils head coach Kara Lawson said her team will be supporting her as De Jesus takes a major step in her basketball career.
“I’m thrilled that Vanessa will have this opportunity to represent the Philippines on the world stage. The Asia Cup brings together some of the best senior national teams,” Lawson said.
“She will be tested competing against professional players. I couldn’t think of a better way for her to prepare for her senior campaign here at Duke. We will be rooting hard for her.”
