Dwight Ramos banking on huge home crowd in next FIBA window
MANILA, Philippines – Gilas stalwart Dwight Ramos is expecting a jam-packed Philippine Arena in Bulacan for the next window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers set to tip off next year.
After playing two away games in Jordan and Saudi Arabia, Ramos is raring to perform in front of a home crowd in the 55,000-seat venue.
"Yeah, I hope so," Ramos said of having many fans in the stands when they face Lebanon and Jordan on February 24 and February 27, respectively.
"Lebanon's crowd was huge when we went there. So hopefully, when they come here, we can show them, our crowd is even better," he added.
Ramos and Gilas are coming off of a fifth window where they swept their assignments, beating Jordan and Saudi Arabia to improve to 5-3 in the qualifiers.
Ramos, who will return to Japan to continue his season with the Levanga Hokkaido in the B. League soon, said that the two wins provide momentum for the Nationals.
"I think those were two good team wins. You could tell by just how balanced the scoring was," Ramos said.
"Obviously, there's still stuff we need to work on, but that comes with time and more practice. So we're on the way up," he added.
The final window of the qualifiers will be crucial for the World Cup co-hosts to prepare for the 32-nation tournament in mid-2023.
Meanwhile, Philippine Arena will see its first Gilas Pilipinas game since the infamous brawl between the Philippines and Australia last July 2, 2018. Incidentally, that game, which ended prematurely in favor of Australia, 89-53, was also part of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers.
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