With Scottie Thompson out, Dwight Ramos is ready to switch into the guard position when Gilas Pilipinas sees action in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Latvia next week.
Ramos said bringing down the ball and setting up the plays are nothing new to him as former Gilas coach Tab Baldwin also gave him this responsibility when they played in the previous OQT in Serbia three years ago.
“A couple of years ago with Coach Tab, he prepared me for this role, so I just kept on working on it. I now have the chance to do that, so I just got to do my best,” said Ramos, who fired 19 points when Gilas Pilipinas beat the Taiwan Mustangs, 74-64, late Monday at the Philsports Arena.
“It’s not like I’ll keep the ball all the time. As long as I keep on passing the ball and move the ball around, that’s the role of a point guard moving.”
Gilas coach Tim Cone agrees, saying that Ramos has the versatility to replace the injured Thompson as one of the team’s ballhandlers in the OQT.
‘A couple of years ago with Coach Tab, he prepared me for this role, so I just kept on working on it.’
“We’re looking at Dwight to help us out in the back court because he played the wing for us when we had Scottie. He gives us size and he’s still capable of scoring from that position,” Cone said.
Ramos entered their training camp at the Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna last Friday oozing with confidence after a strong season for Levanga Hokkaido in Japan.
He averaged 10.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 43 games to serve as one of the bright spots of the Hokkaido, who finished 21st with a 12-48 win-loss record.
Ramos said they are upbeat going into the OQT, knowing that they have the height, the firepower, the hunger and the confidence to stand up against the Latvians and the Georgians in the tourney that serves as the final gateway to the Summer Olympics.
“This team has a lot more experience and is bigger, so obviously, we have a good chance. I’m excited to play those two games,” Ramos said, noting that June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez and Chris Newsome as well as young guns like Mason Amos, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo are all in great shape.
