Dwight Ramos is delighted with the prospect of sharing the court with another young blood in big man Quentin Millora-Brown as Gilas Pilipinas shoots for a spot in the 2027 FIBA World Cup.
Millora-Brown getting the green light to play as a local is a welcome development for the national team, which is looking to parade a younger and more athletic roster for the World Cup’s Asian Qualifiers starting in November.
“That’s big time. I’m happy for him,” Ramos said at the sidelines of Sunday’s 2025 Premier Volleyball League (PVL) On Tour final between eventual champion PLDT and Chery Tiggo at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“It’s an honor to play for Gilas and I’m sure he’s gonna take that with pride. And when he joins, I’m glad to invite him to the team.”
Gilas is coming off a seventh-place finish in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup.
Despite missing the services of 7-foot-3 Kai Sotto due to a knee injury, early struggles and injury woes that left the team down to 10 men, Gilas managed to reach the quarterfinal after missing the cut in 2022.
The Philippines, however, fell victim to eventual three-time champion Australia in the Last 8 in a 24-point defeat.
Young guns Ramos, Kevin Quiambao, AJ Edu and Carl Tamayo stepped up big time in Gilas’ foiled bid to end a four-decade title drought in the Asia Cup.
Ramos averaged 16.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game while Quiambao normed 12.0 points with 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists with 44.4 percent shooting from the outside.
Edu neared double-double average with 8.4 points and 9.0 rebounds per outing while Tamayo contributed off the bench with 3.4 points and 1.6 boards per game.
Their numbers have given Gilas faithful a glimpse of the future behind the new generation of Filipino hoop stars.
The 6-foot-10 Millora-Brown is a great addition to head coach Tim Cone’s rotation for the coming six-window World Cup Qualifiers where Gilas will take on Guam, world No. 7 Australia and New Zealand in the double round-robin, home-and-away format.
The University of the Philippines product could join Gilas as early as the opening window in 28 November against Guam.
Sotto, on the other hand, is showing great progress in his road to recovery after suffering a left anterior cruciate ligament tear while playing for the Koshigaya Alphas in the Japan B.League last 5 January. He underwent surgery in the same month.
The center recently joined the Alphas training and has been doing non-contact workouts heading into the B.League’s 2025-2026 season starting in October.
“I’m not sure about his recovery but if not November, it’s alright,” Ramos said of Sotto.
“But as long as he’s there like February. That’s when we play New Zealand and Australia so we’re gonna need him then,” he added.
Gilas will have a rematch with Guam on 1 December on the second window before taking on the Kiwis on 26 February next year followed by a clash with the Aussies on 1 March.
The fifth window will pit the Filipinos against New Zealand on 3 July and Australia three days after for the sixth and final window to wrap the first round.