Gilas Pilipinas swingman Dwight Ramos.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–Dwight Ramos and Gilas Pilipinas will have the luxury of being in comfortable surroundings as they face New Zealand and Chinese-Taipei again in next month’s Fiba Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Ramos admitted that the conditions were not favorable for Gilas last February in the Asia Cup Qualifiers when the national team fell short against the Taiwanese side and the Tall Blacks on the road.
READ: Gilas adds RJ Abarrientos, Abando, 2 others to Fiba Asia Cup pool
Gilas Pilipinas starts off preparation for the FIBA Asia Cup on Monday at Upper Deck Sports Center in Ortigas @INQUIRERSports pic.twitter.com/UCmbhH9Gpr
— Jonas Terrado (@jonasterradoINQ) July 7, 2025
“The schedule that we had the last time was really tough,” Ramos said after attending the first day of preparations for the continental tournament on Monday at Upper Deck Sports Center in Ortigas.
Gilas played a pocket tournament in Qatar before flying back to Manila, then went to Taipei before wrapping up the long tour in Auckland, resulting in back-to-back defeats and a disappointing finish to the qualifying stage.
“It’s not really an excuse, but now we don’t have to deal with that,” the dashing Japan B.League mainstay said. “We just got to prepare and try to get back on the first game against Taiwan.”
The Philippines is in Group D of the preliminary round alongside New Zealand, Chinese-Taipei and Iraq, with the top team advancing to the quarterfinals outright, and the second and third placers needing to go through the playoff phase to make the last eight.
READ: Gilas Pilipinas resumes training Monday amid busy PBA playoffs
Chinese-Taipei will be Gilas’ first assignment on Aug. 6 at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah before facing New Zealand two days later. Gilas takes on Iraq to close out group play on Aug. 10.
Ramos was among those who attended the first session, which was used mostly for film viewing. But the Levanga Hokkaido player opted to stay around along with Carl Tamayo and Chris Newsome to hone his shooting skills.
“We’re playing catchup [but] we just have to work harder and try to get there and be as well-prepared as we can,” Ramos said.
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