When Gabriela Jaquez noticed three of her UCLA teammates passionately representing Serbia and Germany during Olympic qualifiers, she was motivated.

Emily Bessoir and Lina Sontag qualified to make their Olympic debuts playing for Germany. UCLA teammate Angela Dugalić, of Serbia, also qualified to compete during the Paris Games.

“I saw them and they inspired me,” said Jaquez, explaining why she decided to play for the Mexican national team.

Jaquez, 20, then talked with her father and older brother about playing for Mexico during the summer in her first international tournament. Mexican basketball federation officials had long sought her participation after her brother, former UCLA star and current Miami Heat player Jaime Jaquez Jr., played for Mexico during the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.

“Mexico had always asked me to play with them, but I didn’t know if I was going to be ready,” Jaquez said. “I took the initiative to play with them and I’m super grateful I got to do it.”

Her dad warned her, “You’re not going to get the fouls at FIBA that you get at UCLA,” Jaime Jaquez Sr. recalled while laughing. Her brother told her the same thing.

But Gabriela was not intimidated and called the coach of the Mexican women’s team, Lindsey Harding, a successful Duke player and former pro, who welcomed her. Harding made Jaquez feel comfortable and told her that her first adventure with Mexico could be in August in the pre-qualifying tournament for the FIBA 2026 Women’s Basketball World Cup.

“It was very cool that she was the coach. I admire the way she is, how much I can learn from her,” Jaquez said of Harding, who was recently named an assistant coach with the Lakers, becoming the first woman to hold that title in Lakers history.

Jaquez had the support of UCLA coach Cori Close, who urges her players to seek international competition experience to broaden their repertoire of play.

Unlike college basketball, the FIBA game is generally more physical. Jaquez’s role on the Mexican team also was different from what she is used to with UCLA, a team on which she has very tall teammates. In Mexico, Jaquez, at 6 feet, is one of the tallest players.

“I knew it was going to be physical, but I tried to have fun and that’s what I did,” Jaquez said of the strong FIBA style.

“After every game, she had new bruises,” said Jaime Jaquez Sr., who accompanied his daughter to every game in Mexico City.

Harding said Gabriela Jaquez adapted quickly.

“The game is different than college basketball in the United States, it’s different than anywhere else you play. You’re allowed to do more things, more contact than you’re used to,” Harding said at the news conference after the first game, where she noted that it only took Jaquez one half of the game to adjust.

During the seven-day tournament in August, played at the Juan de la Barrera Olympic Gymnasium in the Mexican capital, the Mexican team was not the favorite but debuted with a win over Mozambique and then defeated New Zealand. Mexico then lost a competitive game to Montenegro and in the semifinals, they were eliminated by the powerful Czech Republic.

Jaime Jaquez Sr. said he was proud of how his daughter connected with her teammates, including Sofia Payan and Carla Martinez.

“I think they are going to be her friends forever,” he said.

Gabriela Jaquez is grateful she decided to play for Mexico.

“Honestly, it was a lot of fun, it was a great experience,” said Jaquez, who led the Mexican team in points and rebounds. “At the beginning, I was a little nervous. I didn’t want to think about it too much because I didn’t want to stress myself out. But at the end of the day, it’s basketball, it’s what I love to do.”

The competition exceeded the Mexican team’s expectations and confirmed how much Jaquez can help the team. The Camarillo native averaged 21.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

“We are very happy. … Gabriela integrated very quickly with her teammates. The senior women’s national team had an outstanding pre-World Cup event,” said Modesto Robledo, president of the Mexican Basketball Sports Assn. “They played with a lot of grit.”

Jaquez said her teammates and coaches were very welcoming. The crowd also stole her heart.

UCLA’s Gabriela Jaquez dribbles during a game against California Baptist on March 23 in L.A.

(Kyusung Gong/AP)

“The people from Mexico who went to our games were incredible. They were saying they were grateful that I would play for Mexico, but no, I was the one who was more grateful,” she said.

Omar Quintero, Mexico’s national team director, believes the Jaquez siblings can have a big effect on the Mexican national team.

“She came to revolutionize Mexican women’s basketball,” Quintero said of Gabriela. And he wants to see her brother return next summer to represent Mexico.

Last season, Jaquez and UCLA reached the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 before falling to Louisiana State. She averaged 10 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game in 34 games, starting six of them and averaging 25.2 minutes per game.

Jaquez wants to help UCLA win the Big Ten and hopes the more physical play she adapted to during the summer will help her during the NCAA tournament.

“The Big Ten championship and being in the Final Four are always our goals,” Jaquez said.

During the tournament in Mexico, Harding learned she had landed the Lakers assistant coaching job. It is unclear whether she will continue coaching Mexico during international tournaments, but federation officials hope she still has time in her schedule.

Meanwhile, the Mexican Basketball Sports Assn. is intensifying the search for players for its national teams. A FIBA rule requires players who represent a national team be born in that country or have obtained their passport from that country before the age of 16. There is only one exemption spot on the roster for a player who got their passport after the age of 16. Jaime and Gabriela Jaquez both used exemptions.

Mexican federation officials are trying to process as many passports as possible for young Mexican American basketball players in the United States so that if they continue to develop their talent, they can play for Mexico without relying on exemptions. The federation has scheduled a camp in Los Angeles for boys and girls under age 3 for January 2025.

UCLA forward Gabriela Jaquez, left, shoots over Purdue forward Alaina Harper during a game on Nov. 6.

(Ryan Sun / Associated Press)

“We may have to set up 300 passports, but if five or six players come out of those 300, we’re good,” Quintero said.

Some of the young basketball players they have in their sights include the children of former Laker Matt Barnes, who have Mexican roots through their mother.

“We are looking for boys and girls from the United States who have the same dream as Gabriela,” Quintero said.

This article first appeared in Spanish via L.A. Times es Español.