MANILA, Philippines — The Gilas Pilipinas youth girls team had an epiphany in Amman, Jordan, with the meteoric rise of 15-year-old Gabby Ramos among the Gilas women U16 team in the FIBA U16 Women's Asian Championship.
A fresh recruit for the youth program, Ramos showed out in five games to help Gilas clinch third place in Division B of the regional tiff.
The 6-foot cager ended up posting norms of 16 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in the games — including an eye-popping 20-20 stat line in her debut for the Gilas girls against Indonesia.
Looking back on her individual performances, Ramos insisted there is still much to improve on.
"My performances were the least of my concerns going into this tournament, but I’m definitely proud of what I was able to do here for my country and for myself," Ramos told Philstar.com.
"Some performances were definitely better than others, but each one brought something new to my attention. I have a lot of things to work on at home, so that next time I will be better and more consistent," she added.
At her young age, Ramos stands as one of the brightest stars for the future of the Gilas Pilipinas women's program.
After having her first taste of representing flag and country, the Filipino-American said that Philippine basketball can definitely expect her back soon and often.
"Don’t worry, there will definitely be a next time. This is just the beginning, you’ll be seeing a lot of my in the next coming years [and] months in multiple competitions. I’m in it for the long run," said Ramos.