Dwight Ramos spoke about Gilas Pilipinas in the FIBA Asia Cup and the upcoming FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, as well as his return to Levanga Hokkaido in Japan's B.LEAGUE.
Basketball never stops for Dwight Ramos.
Fresh off playing with Levanga Hokkaido at the Japan B.LEAGUE, Ramos has already shifted his focus to Gilas Pilipinas’ upcoming campaign in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup set for August 5-17 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
And the steadfast Dwight knows the road ahead won’t be easy for the Philippines, especially without injured big man Kai Sotto.
“The Asia Cup is going to be tough, for sure,” Ramos told reporters in the “B.LEAGUE Final Week in Manila 2025” held on Saturday, May 24.
Nevertheless, Ramos is confident that Gilas will pull through during the build-up for the tournament.
“We’re going to figure it out, see who’s available and who can play. Our job as the players is to show up and do our best. That’s all I’m going to do — I’m going to train, get ready for it, and put my best foot forward for the Asia Cup,” the Gilas mainstay spoke.
The Philippines is slotted with familiar foes in New Zealand and Chinese Taipei, alongside Iraq in Group D of the FIBA Asia Cup.
[ALSO READ: ilas Pilipinas battle Chinese Taipei to begin FIBA Asia Cup 2025 campaign]
Sotto’s absence was already felt earlier this year when Gilas suffered back-to-back losses to Chinese Taipei and New Zealand during the final window of the Asia Cup qualifiers.
[ALSO READ: Kai Sotto set to join Gilas Pilipinas but not play in FIBA Asia Cup 2025]
Still, those games held little bearing as the Nationals had already secured their Asia Cup ticket with a perfect 4-0 start in the earlier windows.
Besides the Asia Cup, Gilas Pilipinas will also open their campaign for the 2027 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers in November this year.
Once again, Gilas got drawn into a tough bracket and will face perennial powers New Zealand and Australia, as well as Guam in Group A.
[ALSO READ: Gilas Pilipinas draw Australia, New Zealand, and Guam in FIBA World Cup qualifiers]
“Obviously, the World Cup Qualifiers, we’ve got a tough group,” Ramos admitted.
“But it’s just qualifiers, you know. The goal is just to qualify, it’s not to win every single game. Obviously we want to [win every game] but at the end of the day, you just want to qualify,” he continued.
Still Hooping at Hokkaido
Ramos heads into this stretch of international duty buoyed by his best B.LEAGUE season to date.
He averaged a career-best 11.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game for Hokkaido over 53 games, despite the team missing the playoffs.
Ramos’ steady play and improved offensive output were silver linings in an otherwise rocky campaign, paving the way for Dwight to return for a fourth season in Hokkaido.
“I’m really excited for the next season. We have a new foreign coach, and when I talked to the team, they said that they felt like I still didn’t show all that I can do, and I agree,” he spoke.
[ALSO READ: Dwight Ramos returns for fourth season with Levanga Hokkaido in Japan B.LEAGUE]
The feeling of unfinished business, combined with his alignment with the organization’s vision, made the decision to stay an easy one.
“I’m always on the same page with them, so I felt like I’m going to stay with Levanga Hokkaido again. Hopefully, this year we can do big things,” Ramos shared.
He emphasized: “First choice was always [staying at] Hokkaido.”