Dwight Ramos hopes to get picked again for Gilas’ final Fiba window games

Gilas Pilipinas standout and Japanese B.League player Dwight Ramos. –INQUIRER

MANILA, Philippines — If Dwight Ramos makes it to the Gilas Pilipinas’ final cut for its last two games in the Fiba World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers, he will be the only national team player to compete in all six windows.

Ramos, who arrived this week from Japan, said it’s always an honor to represent the national team.

“I’m feeling pretty happy. The coaches chose me every time so far. So hopefully, I can keep showing them that I can help and hopefully get picked again,” said Ramos, who was watching his girlfriend Kianna Dy’s game in the Premier Volleyball League on Wednesday at Philsports Arena before heading to Gilas practice.

The 6-foot-4 guard never missed a game for Gilas Pilipinas since the Asian Qualifiers started on February 25 last year, even when he is currently playing for Levanga Hokkaido in the B.League.

The 24-year-old Ramos, who is averaging 13.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 2.5 steals in the tournament, hopes to see the Filipinos bounce back against Lebanon on Feb. 24 and reassert their mastery against Jordan on Feb. 27 at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

“We know they beat us, Lebanon beat us, so they’re trying to win and we’ll try and get another one over Jordan here, show them our homecourt,” Ramos said.

“It should definitely be an experience. My parents, my dad tried to buy tickets, he said it was hard to buy tickets so we already know the games gonna be packed. And it’s gonna be an experience for everyone. It should be fun,” he added.

The Filipino-American cager, who is sporting a new buzz hairdo, suffered a right ankle injury last November during a B.League game and missed 19 games.

But Ramos assured that his past injury won’t be a problem when he plays for the country.

“If I don’t think about it, it’s 100 [percent]. That’s all I need to do,” he said.

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