Two summers ago, Vanessa de Jesus took on the challenge of reinforcing Gilas Pilipinas as its naturalized ace—and made the most of it.

She’s set to do it all over again, rejoining the national squad priming up for the Fiba Women’s Asia Cup set in China next month.

“I think a lot of things that I’ve grown is like my relentlessness, and then just the urgency, of like the time and the present,” she said during an introductory press conference with her new team Notre Dame University Fighting Irish.

“I think now’s the time to just really show it and not wait for the future,” she went on. “So for me, it’s coming in with that mentality of the present and being ready to compete now and, you know, hoping to win now.”

De Jesus is set to cobanner a National Five that will also feature program fixture and overseas veteran Jack Danielle Animam. The Filipinos will try to go through regional powerhouses Australia, Japan and then Lebanon, hoping to punch a first-ever World Cup appearance.

The list of opponents already paints a tall task for the squad coached by Pat Aquino, but the 5-foot-8 Filipino American guard, who is coming off a deep run with Duke in the NCAA’s Sweet 16 last April, is optimistic.

“Many people may doubt us. Many people may think we won’t win as many games,” she said. “But if we just buy in together and believe that the work we put in the days before will help us for that moment … I think we’ll surprise a lot of people.”

But De Jesus is also looking at things through a realistic lens.

“That’s like the No. 1 thing on my mind,” she said of helping the Philippines to a World Cup berth. “But again, it starts one game at a time. So for me, it’s playing Australia first, then Japan, then Lebanon and seeing where that leads after that.

“To be able to make history and represent the Philippines is huge for me,” she added. “If we can get these first couple of games in and hopefully qualify … that’ll be the best thing.”

De Jesus averaged 3.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists last season with Duke.

Despite being born and bred in California, the star guards parents are both Filipinos. In May 2023, she obtained her Philippine passport and soon after, made her debut for the archipelagic Southeast Asian country at the 2023 FIBA Women’s Asia Cup, helping them to a sixth-place finish.

Now, two years later, she is ready to do the same again, especially now that the top six teams will qualify for the qualifying tournaments of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, which the Philippines has never reached.