DWIGHT Ramos wants another crack at New Zealand.
"New Zealand really dominated us, so now I can’t forget it," he said. "That’s always in the back of my mind, moving forward, when I’m working out, when I’m practicing, I remember that New Zealand game and how tough it was for us."
Ramos was held to six points in Thursday's 106-60 blowout loss in Auckland - the second straight suffered by Gilas at the hands of Tall Black in the 2023 Fiba World Cup Asian qualifiers.
[See Error-prone Gilas still too good for India]
Luckily for him, Ramos doesn't need to wait long with Gilas and the Tall Blacks set for another collision course in the 2022 Fiba Asia Cup group stage in Indonesia this month.
"I’m super excited," said Ramos after the Philippines bounced back with a 79-63 win over India on Sunday. He led the way with 21 points, five rebounds, four steals, and two assists as Gilas ended Group A with a 2-2 card to end the first round.
Gilas is grouped once again with New Zealand and India, as well as Lebanon in Group D of the continental showpiece.
"It’s going to be kind of exciting playing if we ever match up there also. We have a short preparation time before we go over there, but it’s going to be always in the back of our mind how they beat us and hopefully that drives us in practice and our personal workout trying to get better and trying to play on their level."
Ramos acknowledged that there still may be a big gap between this young Gilas squad and a battle-tested New Zealand team, but to him, all he wants is to see the fight out of the Filipinos.
"Hopefully, we can compete," he said. "It takes time, we have short practice time before we leave. It takes time, but as long as we keep improving, eventually we’ll get there."
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