GILAS Pilipinas Women sweeping the group stages of the 2022 Fiba Under-16 Women's Asian Championship Division B really shouldn't come as a surprise given the body of work that the team has put up in the leadup to the tourney.
Gabby Ramos on Gilas U16 sweep
"The amount of training that we've done, the amount of work we've put in, the sacrifices we've made as a team, it really has prepared us for this level," said Gabby Ramos, with the national women's youth team reaping the rewards of their early preparations way back in March.
The 6-foot forward has been one of the emerging stars for the Philippines as she has been a rock for Gilas Women after its big wins over Indonesia, Syria, and Samoa.
What caught Ramos off guard, however, was the numbers she put up, posting 17.3 points on 41-percent shooting, alongside 14.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 3.3 steals, and 2.3 blocks through her Group A games.
"Personally I was surprised," she admitted. "I didn't think coming into this that I was going to put up numbers or something because that wasn't my goal and that wasn't my focus. I'm obviously happy about it, but just it was definitely surprising and hope I keep it up. It's exciting to put up numbers, but to play well for the country, that's what we came here to do."
The 15-year-old Ramos understands that personal glory hardly matters in this stage as it will still need a team effort if the Philippines wants to accomplish its goals of being promoted to Division A come 2024.
Only the Division B winner will earn a ticket to face the continent's top tier in the next tourney.
Still, the exceptional play Gilas Women has had in its first three games speaks volumes on the pedigree that the team possesses, as well as the work that the coaching staff led by coach Julie Amos and Brian Rosario have done to ready them for this stage.
"None of us have played on the international stage before and it's a different competition, it's different level of play, and the coaches tried to prepare us as much as possible," she said. "But you really don't know until you get out there. So it's different but I think we've adjusted well."
"Basketball is a team sport. Everyone knows that we need five on the court and we need the seven on the bench."
Ramos highlighted the Philippines' balanced attack in its 94-65 win over Samoa on Sunday as an example.
"I'm glad that everyone stepped up. I think that it was just us showcasing what we all knew what they were capable of," she said.
"Last night, we really saw them come into the light and share the spotlight. That's something I'm happy to do and I'm happy to see them score, I'm happy to give them the ball because that's what we're here for: we're here as a team. We're not here to build a statline and we're not here to get recognition by ourselves. We're here to give recognition for the Philippines and this, for us as team, seeing them score, we're just all very ecstatic."
Given the groove that Gilas Pilipinas is currently on, Ramos is just exuding with confidence for what's ahead as the Philippines sits idle in the semifinals awaiting its date between Kazakhstan or Samoa.
"I think it makes us more dangerous ahead because then everyone's more confident and everyone's gonna get some points," she said.
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