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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Basketball devider Impressive de Jesus says Gilas debut 'a dream come true' despite tough loss

Impressive de Jesus says Gilas debut 'a dream come true' despite tough loss

Published Jun 26, 2023 04:35 pm
A harsh thrashing at the hands of world No. 3 and host Australia in Gilas Pilipinas’ opening game in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup couldn’t dampen the joy of its prize acquisition Vanessa de Jesus who was finally able to don the national tri-colors.

*Vanessa De Jesus (right) says donning the Gilas jersey is a dream come true. (FIBA Photo)

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In what she described a "dream come true" moment, de Jesus relished the warm Filipino support in Sydney, Australia during their 105-34 loss against the Opals on Monday, June 26. “I've been waiting for this for a while now, just finally getting out there in front of the crowd and playing for the Filipino culture and it was honestly a dream come true,” said De Jesus who was all smiles and brimming with pride despite the defeat. “I'm still like having butterflies just thinking about the game and I'm just really excited to go out there tomorrow and come out even stronger and enjoy this experience,” she added. The Duke University standout did make her first game with Gilas Pilipinas count, finishing with 18 points on four triples, including a personal 8-0 run in the second frame that pumped some life to the Filipinas despite trailing the Opals by 18 points, 38-20. De Jesus, who provided the silver lining in the lopsided loss, was not the one to be disheartened by the 71-point beatdown and actually liked how the team played against an Australian team bannered by a core of WNBA players. “We came out excited to play, that was our first game in the FIBA Cup, we feel like we came out with the energy but obviously Australia is a good team coming in and they played a hell of a game,” said de Jesus. “They are the bigger team and I think they made adjustments and we also made adjustments and some shots were just not falling in the second half,” she furthered. Still, there were plenty of reasons for Gilas to cheer up as it still has the chance of advancing to the next round if it wins one of its last two games against defending champion Japan and fellow rising team Chinese Taipei.

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