Gilas Pilipinas rising star Dwight Ramos is taking advantage of the Japan B. League break, and is heading home to represent the Philippines in the upcoming 2023 FIBA World Cup second Asia qualifying window.
Newly reappointed national team head coach Chot Reyes bared the development on Spin.ph’s Zoom In show on Thursday, February 3.
This means that the 23-year-old guard will now miss the Toyama Grouses’ last set of games for the month on Saturday and Sunday, February 5 and 6, against Javi Gomez de Liaño and the Ibaraki Robots.
After the B. League break, Toyama will return on March 2 against Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakestars. Ramos’ return by that point is now up in the air, and subject to Japan’s existing quarantine rules.
Who will be included in the Gilas 2022 lineup for World Cup qualifiers this February?
Meanwhile, the Philippines has scrapped its mandatory quarantine for fully vaccinated persons, and returning overseas Filipinos like Ramos, which means that he can likely join Gilas practices as soon as he presents a negative RT-PCR test.
Ramos will be a great addition once again for the national team, especially after the mass exit of the 2019 full-time core of Isaac Go, Rey Suerte, Allyn Bulanadi, and brothers Matt and Mike Nieto.
The Philippines will host Group A for the first two windows of the World Cup qualifiers later this February as the Philippines takes on Korea twice, New Zealand, and India.
In his first foray back home since locking in with the Grouses, Ramos is set to join fellow B. League import Juan Gomez de Liaño, naturalized center Ange Kouame, Will Navarro, Jaydee Tungcab, Tzaddy Rangel, and eligible members of the PBA’s TNT Tropang Giga.
The Fil-Am stalwart rose to prominence in the international stage back in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers, where he averaged 13.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists to lead a full Gilas cadet squad under now-former coach Tab Baldwin.
