Days after a tough ending to her and Ateneo’s season in UAAP Season 88, Kacey Dela Rosa heeded the call to represent the country with Gilas Pilipinas in SEA Games 2025.
BANGKOK — There are no thoughts of redemption or individual glory for two-time UAAP MVP Kacey Dela Rosa as she takes on the challenge of helping the Gilas Pilipinas women recapture the gold in the SEA Games 2025 here.
Days after ending her and the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ stint in UAAP Season 88 in a heartbreaking loss to eventual runners-up NU Lady Bulldogs, Dela Rosa was already up and running for the national team in the biennial tournament.
Churning out back-to-back 20-point games en route to Gilas women’s perfect 2-0 run in Group B action, Dela Rosa’s performances has helped secure a spot in the semifinals and placed the Gilas women in a position to compete for gold.
[RELATED: Gilas Women blast Singapore to make SEA Games 2025 semifinals]
While some may attribute Dela Rosa’s amped up performance to some form of “gigil” or bounce back-fueled aggression, she said that she’s simply soaking up all the lessons she can to better herself.
“I can say, di naman [ako gigil]. Kasi alam ko parang rookie palang ako dito sa SEA Games, and, tinitake ko lang siya na marami akong malalelearn dito sa mga ate ko,” said Dela Rosa after their match against Singapore where she finished with 22 points on 11-of-15 shooting.
MVP form on display
Though she is indeed a newcomer to the biennial meet, Dela Rosa has hardly missed a beat in her first two games, carrying the team on her shoulders similar to what she’s done for the Blue Eagles all UAAP season long.
But the two-time MVP wasn’t keen on hogging all the credit, and rather deferred to her coaches as the reason behind her success.
“I think talagang stick lang kami sa plan ni coach. Tiwala lang kami sa kanya kung ano yung dapat gawin inside the court. And, ayun din. Tiwala ko sa teammates kasi teamwork naman talaga yung inside the court,” she said.
As it stands, the biggest challenges for Dela Rosa and company still loom, with the likes of defending champions Indonesia and host country Thailand still looming in their upcoming knockout matches for the medals.
Still, as far as Dela Rosa is concerned, she’ll just need to keep herself grounded and stick to the game plan.
“Ako, ready lang ako kung kailan ako ipapasok ni coach. Bigay ko talaga yung best ko inside the court. And, trust ko lang si sa coach kung ano yung ano gusto niya ipagawa sakin,” she said.
The Gilas Women now play the waiting game with an outright semis berth as the final day of group play unfurls here on Monday, December 15, to determine the final matchups for the semifinals.
Gilas will play their next game on Thursday, December 18, at the Nimbutr Stadium against a yet-to-be-determined foe.
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Luisa Morales is a sports writer with a special interest in promoting women’s sports.
Her coverage highlights include the UAAP, PVL, Southeast Asian Games, and the FIBA World Cup. She also follows Alex Eala, the Philippine women’s national football team, and mixed martial arts.