DWIGHT Ramos will reinforce Gilas Pilipinas in the February window of the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
New coach Chot Reyes bared the development, saying the Toyama Grouses guard is expected to arrive in the country on Friday to join the Gilas buildup for the qualifiers to be hosted by the country at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
"He'll be arriving tomorrow. He'll be there [in February]," Reyes, who took over after Tab Baldwin stepped down, said during Thursday's SPIN Zoom In episode.
Timely boost for Gilas
Ramos' addition will be a big boost to a Gilas pool that has been reduced to naturalized player Ange Kouame, and pool members Juan Gomez de Liano, William Navarro, Tzaddy Rangel, and Jaydee Tungcab.
Players from TNT Tropang Giga are also expected to beef up the national team as fill the void in the lineup of Reyes, who is now tasked to whip his team in fighting shape in three weeks' time.
Ramos is expected to join the team practices at Mount Malarayat Golf and Country Club in Lipa, Batangas as Reyes pulls a double duty in training TNT and the Gilas core simultaneously.
The Fil-Am guard has made an immediate impact for Toyama in the Japan B.League, averaging 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 28 games for a team that currently holds a 13-20 win-loss record.
Aside from Ramos, Reyes is also expecting former New Zealand coach Nenad Vucinic and assistant coach Jong Uichico to join the team by Friday as Gilas races against time in preparing for the games in late-February.
Gilas will play Korea on Feb. 24, India on Feb. 25, New Zealand on Feb. 27, and Korea again on Feb. 28 in the opening Group A games set at the Big Dome.
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