DWIGHT Ramos surprised even himself with his performance on Friday.
"It's probably my first game ever (that all my shots went in). The ball just went in today," he said.
The hoop was certainly friendly to the Fil-Am guard as he made all of his seven shots to score 20 points and lead Gilas Pilipinas to a 93-61 victory over Thailand in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers.
Ramos' performance proved the catalyst for the Philippines' second-quarter pullaway as he scored 11 of the team's 32 points in the period to help establish the commanding 53-29 halftime lead.
The incoming Ateneo recruit was quick to deflect the credit, saying the two three-pointers, five two-point baskets and four free throws he made were made possible by the trust his teammates had given him.
"I felt good," he said. "My teammates passed me the ball and they got me in the right spots. We're just out there trying to have fun, try to follow our gameplan."
The dominant performance for Gilas in the second window of the qualifiers proved a promising glimpse to what the future holds especially heading to the second of the two-game series against Thailand on Monday.
Yet Ramos argued that every game is different, and the Philippines will be foolish to think that getting the victory will be just as easy.
"The next game is probably going to be different," he said.
"They're gonna adjust their game plan. They played us before so they'll make some adjustments, so we'll make some adjustments as well. You never know next game. It could be tight, so we got to improve and be better."
As for people expecting Ramos to replicate his perfect night, all the 6-foot-4 swingman wants is to stay within the game plan coach Jong Uichico and the rest of the coaching staff prepared for them.
"For me, I just try and play and do everything that our coaches say," he said. "It's just today, the ball went in."
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