Dwight Ramos during Gilas Pilipinas’ open practice at Philsports Arena.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Dwight Ramos is feeling confident about the direction that Gilas Pilipinas is heading to ahead of the national team’s campaign in the Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
Ramos, who’s been a key piece for Gilas since 2020, likes what he sees in the national team program under decorated coach Tim Cone.
“I guess our strength is, this is definitely a bigger team, everyone’s a good size. There’s a lot of ball movement now, it’s just different but I like it. I like how the team was. I just joined a couple of days ago and a lot of them have been practicing and I just tried to join and learn as much as I could,” said Ramos at Philsports Arena on Tuesday.
SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers window 1
“It was easy because they all helped me out really.”
Unlike the past Gilas iterations, size won’t seem to be a problem for the current team especially upfront with the likes of June Mar Fajardo, Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Japeth Aguilar in tow. Versatility won’t be an issue either with do-it-all players like the prolific Justin Brownlee, Kevin Quiambao and Ramos.
Dwight Ramos signs autographs for fans during Gilas Pilipinas’ open practice at Philsports Arena.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Health, however, is a different story and something that cannot be controlled.
Gilas is currently dealing with some health issues with Fajardo and Edu set to miss the opening window of the qualifiers slated on Thursday and Sunday.
Ramos, though, isn’t too worried knowing Cone and his coaching staff have something up their sleeves to fill in the void left by Fajardo and Edu.
“I think there’s just different ways to play. Nothing against other coaches and the way they style but we’re just going to play his (Cone) way and that’s what we’re going to go with and we’re going to make it work,” said Ramos.
Ramos also lauded Cone’s four-year plan and said it’s a “good idea” to keep guys around and not have it changed from time to time.
“I think it’s a good idea to keep everybody the same. Of course, there are things that come like if someone gets hurt, they’ll need a replacement but we’ll see the same players every time. It just helps you build from window to window, the chemistry’s always going to be there.”
“I think it’s a good idea and we’re going to make it work for the next four years.”