Dwight Ramos says Gilas used lessons from slump to beat Jordan

Dwight Ramos and GIlas Pilipinas celebrate after beating Jordan in the Fiba World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers at Mall of Asia Arena. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

SCHEDULE: Gilas Pilipinas at Fiba Asian Qualifiers Window 4

MANILA, Philippines— Gilas Pilipinas entered the second round of the 2027 Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers in a slump.

The Philippines had lost four straight games in the qualifiers after opening its campaign with two consecutive wins.

But Dwight Ramos said the lessons from those defeats, particularly the two losses to Australia and New Zealand in the previous window, helped Gilas gut out its 82-81 overtime win over Jordan on Friday night.

“There were a lot of learning experiences there, we had two top teams in that pool,” Ramos said. “It was big. We had tough opponents but it made us better and it made us come back.”

In the final window of the first round, the Philippines first dropped a double-overtime thriller to New Zealand before being drubbed by Australia by 43 points.

Ramos made sure the Philippines wouldn’t open the second round with another defeat, contributing 14 points, five rebounds and two assists in the win.

But Gilas won’t be in a celebratory mood for long.

The Philippines has only 24 hours to rest before taking on powerhouse Iran, which holds a 5-2 record in Group E.

“Iran’s going to be tough too. They’re one of the tough ones so we have to forget about this one and move on to the next.”