Vanessa de Jesus keeping busy this summer
Duke senior's goal to ve role model for Asian Americans
How I spent my summer vacation.
Do they still do that?
If they do, then Duke senior Vanessa de Jesus is going to have some stories to tell.
Back in May de Jesus joined Duke teammates Kennedy Brown, Reigan Richardson and Ashlon Jackson in Colorado Springs for a 3x3 tournament against other college teams.
Duke won five of seven contests, losing to Creighton in the title match.
Presumably this will pay benefits next season.
But de Jesus didn’t grow up dreaming of playing a hybrid, truncated form of James Naismith’s invention in Colorado.
She did dream of representing her heritage on the international stage.
A box she checked halfway around the planet.
De Jesus grew up in a California in an extended Filipino-American family, one with aunts and uncles and cousins. She says “basketball and family” were the cornerstones of her childhood and the two were closely intertwined. Everybody played basketball and a game was likely to break out any time the family got together. Her aunt Cristina Briboneria played and coached at D-3 Oberlin College.
De Jesus has been to the Philippines once, in elementary school, to visit her mother’s family. A second trip planned for just after her graduation from high school was scrubbed by COVID-19.
De Jesus grew up in Valencia and prepped at Sierra Canyon High School. She was recruited to Duke by Joanne P. McCallie. She didn’t play for McCallie but she’s the last real link between McCallie’s program and Lawson’s program.
She’s 5-8, not a great athlete and is the kind of player who “brings energy off the bench.” But she’s smart, skilled, tough, focused and if you give her an inch she’ll bury a jumper in your face or take it to the rim. She scored 17 points against Richmond last season, 15 against Virginia. She had nine points in 18 minutes off the bench in Duke’s overtime loss to Colorado in the NCAA Tournament.
A good person to have on your team.
De Jesus was born and raised in California. But her parents came to the United States from the Philippines when they were in high school and the idea was floated around that someday, maybe de Jesus could represent her parents’ native country in international play.
She was receptive to the idea. But the time had to be right. She decided that the time was 2023 and the Asia Cup was the place.
She had to jump through some hoops--no pun intended--most notably getting a Philippines passport. This took several years but this June de Jesus received a passport as a naturalized citizen of the Philippines.
She got total buy-in from Kara Lawson, whose long experience with team USA has made her enthusiastic about international play. In fact, rising Duke sophomore Emma Koabel and incoming freshman Jaydn Donovan are getting ready to represent Canada and the U.S. respectively in the FIBA U-19 World Championships later this month.
“I’m thrilled that Vanessa will have this opportunity to represent the Philippines on the world stage,” Lawson said in a press release. “The Asia Cup brings together some of the best Senior National teams. She will be tested against professional players. I couldn’t think of a better way for he to prepare for her senior campaign here at Duke.
De Jesus talked to the media via Zoom shortly before leaving for Australia, the host country. Most of the participants were Filipino. Their national team has had some American collegians but not from programs with a profile as high as Duke’s. This was a big deal.
“We’ve been waiting for you with open arms.” veteran Filipino coach Pat Aquino told a local publication.
For her part, de Jesus could barely contain her enthusiasm. “I look forward to growing as a leader and as a player competing on this global stage.” “It’s definitely something I’ve always been passionate about.” “A dream come true.”
She used the word “passionate” multiple times.
De Jesus made it clear she hoped to improve her game and grow her leadership skills for next season at Duke. But she also made it clear that she has larger goals in mind.
“I’m Duke’s first Asian-American basketball player. Growing up there weren’t many other Asian-Americans into sports. Having an opportunity to be that person and represent that culture is something I’m so grateful for. I think more representation is needed and I hope to be that person.”
The actual results were mixed. The Filipino team goes by the name “Gilas,” which is Tagalog for “prowess” or “mettle.”
Host Australia beat them 105-34 to open play. Japan followed with a 95-57 win. But a 92-81 win over Chinese Taipei was enough to advance Gilas to the next stage, where they lost competitive games to New Zealand (83-76) and South Korea (80-71).
What about de Jesus? Well, she ended the five games averaging 12.8 points and a team-leading 3.2 assists per game. She had 18 of her team’s 34 points against the Aussies and her 25 points keyed Gilas to that win over Chinese Taipei. Only a 2 for 13 shooting performance against Korea marred her tournament. Even then she led her team with five assists.
So, a summer well spent and as Lawson suggests, a summer that should benefit de Jesus and Duke down the line. But de Jesus made it clear that this was not a one-off. She wants to be part of the Filipino women’s basketball infrastructure as long as she can and she made a pretty compelling case for doing so.
My wife of 44 years is a Filipina so I enjoy reading about Vanessa de Jesus. Hopefully, her experiences representing the Philippines help her excel at Duke during her Senior season.