In a program as tumultuous and unpredictable as Gilas Pilipinas, Dwight Ramos has emerged as one of the team’s few reliable constants over these past few years.

Ramos’ role has grown through the years, initially serving as a backcourt stabilizer and on-ball defender for Gilas. However, Ramos has asserted himself more and more on offense in recent months. 

In this ongoing FIBA Asia Cup, he has become a top scoring option for the Philippines, averaging 18.7 points over their first three games–the highest among all Gilas players outside of naturalized player Justin Brownlee. 

What makes this even more impressive is that the 6’4 Ramos is by no means a natural scorer as most of his points come within the team’s system. Last season with Levanga Hokkaido in the Japanese B.League, he averaged an unflashy 9.5 points across 41 games played. He simply knows how to play the game the right way and on a system-heavy team such as Gilas under head coach Tim Cone, a player like Ramos is only going to thrive.

The 26-year-old did exactly that in the Philippines’ first victory in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup–a 66-57 win over Iraq–where he led all scorers with 21 points. He hit seven-of-13 field goals, including three three-pointers, and also tallied six rebounds, two assists, and two steals. 

Ramos scored 10 of his points during the third quarter when Gilas made its game-changing run. They turned a tie game at halftime into a 15-point lead as they limited Iran to a mere seven points during the period. 

The Philippines desperately needs a steady second option behind Brownlee, and Ramos looks ready to heed this call. He is as consistent as they come and is never lacking for effort–something that this Gilas program is always in short supply of. This team needs Ramos to take the lead, not only in this tournament, but for the next decade at the very least. All signs suggest that he is up for the call and the whole country now prays that this program will not put his talents to waste.