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.