Dwight Ramos looks forward to learning from veterans in latest Gilas call-up

The last time swingman Dwight Ramos suited up for Gilas Pilipinas, the team was composed mainly of young guns.

Ramos led a young core that swept all their games in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers for a clean 6-0 slate.

In this call-up, he will have some veteran teammates to lean on in a squad with a mix of experienced players and youngsters as the Philippines competes in the February window of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers.

And the 23-year-old cager said he's not wasting this opportunity to learn from some of the best.

"Of course when you play with the veterans, you have to learn from them, especially off the court," Ramos said on the eve of their game against India at the Araneta Coliseum.

Ramos is among the young guns invited to the Gilas pool. Also called up were Thirdy Ravena, Juan Gomez de Liaño, Ange Kouame, Tzaddy Rangel, and Will Navarro.

They will be bolstered by professionals from the TNT Tropang Giga core, including RR Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Kelly Williams, and Poy Erram as well as NorthPort guard Robert Bolick.

"They teach me leadership stuff and they give me advice so it's helping me as a person, it's helping me on the court, especially with their experience playing more games than I have. Every team I go to, I try to learn from it."

Ramos, who averaged 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in the Asia Cup qualifiers, also shared he was actually looking forward to facing South Korea again before the latter decided to pull out at the last minute.

Against the Koreans last June, Ramos tallied 35 points and eight rebounds in two games.

"I was really looking forward to it. I never really got the chance to play in front of the crowd. This is my first time playing here in Araneta and I was really excited to play against Korea," he said.

"We have a different squad this time so I was really excited to see us go against them again."

—JMB, GMA News