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Basketball: Duke’s Vanessa De Jesus excited to join Gilas Women

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Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Duke guard Vanessa de Jesus. Photo courtesy of Cris Gopez." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/life/05/17/20230517-duke-guard-vanessa-de-jesus.jpg"/><figcaption>Duke guard Vanessa de Jesus. <em>Photo courtesy of Cris Gopez.</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>From high school basketball powerhouse Sierra Canyon to Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Academy to Duke University, Vanessa de Jesus is excited to suit up for the Gilas Women&#x27;s basketball team.</p><p>After securing her Philippine passport last month, the incoming college senior announced on Tuesday morning (Los Angeles, US time) that she is joining the country&#x27;s women&#x27;s national team this summer for the upcoming FIBA Women’s Asia Cup. </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/17/23/vanessa-de-jesus-gets-ph-passport-can-play-for-gilas-women">Duke&#x27;s Vanessa de Jesus gets PH passport, can play for Gilas Women</a></li></ul><p>&quot;I’m excited for the opportunity to suit up for the Philippine national team. Two of the most important things in my life are family and basketball. And since I was young, I understood this growing up. My family has been a huge part of who I am,&quot; she said in an online conference.</p><p>&quot;Having the opportunity to represent both on a national level is something I’m very excited about. And I’m very excited to go both as a player and as a leader by competing at this global stage,&quot; she added.</p><p>De Jesus said she felt this decision was the &quot;right timing&quot; for her.</p><p>&quot;Now, it’s just going out there and playing. And I feel like it’s going to help me grow as a player,&quot; she said.</p><p>While suiting up for the Philippines has been a dream of hers, De Jesus said she was inspired by her Duke Coach Kara Lawson who has won Olympic gold with Team USA as a player and as 3x3 basketball coach.</p><p>&quot;Just seeing all that she’s done so far, at every level, she’s a winner and got so many crazy experiences. And seeing how far she’s come in and how she’s grown as a coach and as a leader, that&#x27;s something I hope to gain from this experience as well,&quot; she said.</p><p>In her three years at Duke, De Jesus has averaged 5.1 points per game along with 2.3 rebounds, and 2 assists over 66 games. In the past season, the Blue Devils advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. </p><p>&quot;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,&quot; she said.</p><p>De Jesus will be joining coach Pat Aquino and the Gilas women’s team in Melbourne, Australia later this week. They will play against host country Australia on June 26. </p><p>De Jesus said she’s excited to meet her teammates, and she is familiar with Jhazmin Joson, who also grew up in Southern California.</p><p>In events like the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Games, de Jesus can be fielded as a local. </p><p>De Jesus had expressed her interest in joining the Gilas Women in 2020, with Aquino saying the guard is &quot;very welcome.&quot;</p><p>Her parents are both Filipinos, but she was born in the United States. She entered Duke in 2020 as the 37th-ranked player in her recruiting class.</p><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=2674844" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>

From high school basketball powerhouse Sierra Canyon to Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Academy to Duke University, Vanessa de Jesus is suiting up for the Gilas Women's basketball team.

Basketball: Duke’s Vanessa De Jesus excited to join Gilas Women

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Basketball: Duke’s Vanessa De Jesus excited to join Gilas Women

Steve Angeles,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jun 14, 2023 12:26 AM PHT

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Vanessa De Jesus

Gilas Women

Gilas Women's basketball team

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