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| Vanessa De Jesus remains committed to a future Gilas call-up even if she is still chasing her pro dreams, according to SBP executive director Erika Dy. Imagn (file photo) |
MANILA--Vanessa De Jesus remains committed to joining Gilas Pilipinas even if she is still trying to crack a professional team lineup.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy assured the combo guard's commitment despite getting snubbed in the recent WNBA Draft.
"She told me that she is ready to play for the Gilas 5-on-5 team when she's called up for that," Dy said as she joined Gilas' women's 3x3 team during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday at the Philippine Sports Commission conference hall inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex.
According to Dy, De Jesus will still try her luck at getting her first pro contract after a solid one-and-done run with Notre Dame in her final year in the collegiate ranks.
"She really plans to go on with her professional basketball career since tapos na siya sa (US) NCAA, so she's going to work out with some teams sa WNBA and sa Europe. Yan ang gagawin niya ngayon, and we will support her on that," Dy further said, implying that the SBP is here to support De Jesus' pro journey.
When asked if the SBP would try to convince her to try her luck in the domestic top-tier WMPBL instead, Dy said that it is De Jesus' call if she is indeed coming home.
"That's up to her. Ang WMPBL naman are private clubs, so kung nago-offer sa kanya, nakay Vanessa yun if she wants to play or not. Yung federation naman will not meddle with those matters," Dy further said.
After a four-year run mainly off the bench at Duke, De Jesus instantly became a starter for Notre Dame in her last run in the amateur ranks, tallying career-highs in minutes (34.2) and steals (1.8) per game as well as in free-throw percentage (90 percent for the whole year).
With De Jesus as a starter, the Fighting Irish went 22-10 in the regular season, enough to secure a place in the March Madness as the sixth seed in the Fort Worth #1 Regional.
After a blowout win against Fairfield, Notre Dame pulled off massive upsets against higher-ranked Ohio State and Vanderbilt to make it to the Elite 8.
The Fighting Irish's magical run came to an end with a blowout loss against the UConn Huskies.
Only Cassandre Prosper made it to the WNBA Draft from Notre Dame this year, as she was selected in the second round by Washington.
For De Jesus, all is not yet lost as she is now part of the WNBA's free agent pool.
Meanwhile, her reaffirmed commitment would be a big boost for Gilas ahead of the Asian Games.
Dy said in a previous interview that host country Japan would be lenient in its player eligibility rule, that is, only a passport is enough for a player to be allowed to join, making De Jesus, categorized as a restricted player by FIBA, as she obtained her Philippine passport upon turning 21, good to go.
