Dwight Ramos' Inclusion to Gilas Line-up: Preparing the Future of Philippine Basketball

It's not surprising that both Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena made it to the final line up of Gilas Pilipinas that will play against Indonesia as part of the first window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. In fact, it's not even a surprise that JP Erram, Roger Pogoy, and Troy Rosario also made it to the final cut. After all, the three of them are set to play together for the TNT KaTropa in the PBA under TNT Consultant and interim Gials Coach Mark Dickel assuming that the JP Erram deal gets a go-signal from the PBA Commissioner's office. It's even understandable that both Justin Chua and Abu Tratter have made the team despite being late additions to the training pool owing to the losses of key Gilas players due to injuries and other circumstances. But what surprises many is the inclusion of a college player in Dwight Ramos to the final line up. Why indeed?

Many are already surprised that Dwight Ramos was included in the 24-man training pool that SBP announced last month. But if you are to watch Mico Halili's interview with the Nieto twins of Mike and Matt in "The Score", Matt Nieto explained what Dwight Ramos can actually do for the national team and eventually, what the upcoming Ateneo rookie can contribute for Philippine basketball in general. According to Matt Nieto who is also included in the line-up for this Sunday's game, one of the strengths of Dwight Ramos is that he can actually play multiple positions from the point guard position up to the power forward position. That alone can give interim Coach Mark Dickel the luxury of having a rare player who is flexible in which position he can play at. And actually plays well. And if you are to look back at Dwight Ramos' performance during the UAAP-NCAA Challenge of the PCCL where Ateneo won all of its three games, the talent is there. The numbers aren't lying. In other words, Dwight Ramos is the real deal.

Matt Nieto, in the same interview, also said that Dwight Ramos doesn't show emotions regardless if he makes a good play or is hurt by other players. That shows the huge amount of emotional maturity that Ramos is showing at this early stage of his career and that could help him in the international scene.

But one of the most important factors that led to Dwight Ramos' surprising inclusion to the national team line-up despite not having played a single UAAP game is the fact that Gilas Pilipinas isn't just preparing to make the FIBA Asia Cup next year. Gilas Pilipinas, at this early, is already laying the foundations for a better Gilas Pilipinas side that will make the country proud when the 2023 FIBA World Cup comes to our own backyard and yes, Dwight Ramos is a part of the foundation.      

Photo is from Philippine Star