Gilas Pilipinas mainstay Dwight Ramos is confident that the national team out to defend the country’s 5×5 gold medal in the upcoming 20th Asian Games will do the Philippines proud—this despite blowout losses to South Korea in the two nations’ tune-ups over the weekend.
Gilas Asiad Team Is Stepping Up, Says Dwight Ramos
According to Ramos, the Gilas Asiad squad is stepping up for the FIBA team, which won’t be representing the Philippines this time around for different reasons.
In the case of Ramos and his fellow Filipino exports to the Japan B.League and KBL, they won’t be part of this national team because their commitments to their mother clubs prevent them from doing so. This is the reason a new team had to be assembled for the Asian Games, and that’s also why this group, according to Ramos, needs the country’s support—win or lose.
“I know the Asian Games is coming and a lot of people are worried about their recent performance, but they’re all there for a reason,” said Ramos after his Levanga Hokkaido lost to the Gunma Crane Thunders in the opening game of the B.League Manila Games 2026 on Wednesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. “They’re representing the country when they don’t have to ‘cause you know, our team is not there, so they’re stepping up. So, you just support them as much as you can, win or loss there, they’re trying their best.”
Asiad Team ‘Played Really Well’ vs. FIBA Squad
A few weeks ago, it was widely reported that the Asian Games squad beat Ramos’ FIBA team by outrunning and outgunning the latter. Dwight Ramos all but confirmed it, telling reporters that the Asiad five “played really well” and seemed to have been “practicing for a long time” already.
“Yeah, we had a tune-up. They played really well. Obviously they were playing fast, and it felt like they were practicing for a long time so you know,” said Ramos of that tune-up.
That good game from the Asian Games squad seems a long time ago now, especially after those two blowouts to South Korea. And now a lot of fans appear to be losing faith in the team.
Dwight Ramos is not one of them.
