MANILA – For Dwight Ramos, a standout player for Gilas Pilipinas, the national team’s victory over World No. 6 Latvia at the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament stands as the “best win” of his career.
Despite being ranked 37th, Gilas defied expectations, overpowering one of the world’s top basketball teams with an 89-80 triumph at Riga Arena on July 4 (Manila time).
Speaking at a fan meet on Friday at One Ayala Mall, hosted by Lawson Philippines and his B.League team Levanga Hokkaido, Ramos reflected on the team’s journey during the Olympic qualifiers.
“I think the win just was like the best one in my career, that’s what it felt like. I think a lot of people thought we wouldn’t get into the semis, but after we lost the game against Brazil, it felt like we should have won the whole tournament, so it still felt like a disappointment for us,” he stated.
The 25-year-old player shared his thoughts on the mood in the dugout following the victory over Latvia.
“I mean for me, I was actually like I thought we would gonna be happier, but pretty much everybody was like, it’s still a tournament, it’s just one win. So everyone was happy that we won, but it wasn’t as happy as I thought. I think everyone was still thinking we could win the tournament,” he said.
Ramos also expressed gratitude to the fans who stayed up late to support Gilas’ games.
“I will just say thank you; even though we’re playing far away, there are a lot of Filipinos in the stadium. And then, of course, everybody here is staying up, watching late at night, so it just gets you extra motivation when we play,” he shared.
He acknowledged that the team had exceeded expectations despite their limited preparation for the tournament.
“[Gilas’ future is] super bright. We still have a bunch of years until the World Cup, and we really only practiced for four days before we left. So four days of practice, we still made it to the semis,” Ramos concluded.