JIMMY Alapag has always been intrigued of Dwight Ramos.
The longtime Gilas captain has heard great stuff about the Fil-Am guard, but what piqued his interest the most was the comparison Gilas Pilipinas deputy Jong Uichico threw at him in a previous conversation.
"The one kid that I really was anxious to see was Dwight Ramos, and the reason why I was excited to see him was because I remember when coach Jong first saw him in practice, he threw out comparisons to Danny Seigle," he told Hoops Life.
"Those are huge, huge shoes to fill when you talk about, for me, arguably the greatest power forward to ever play the PBA."
Alapag certainly understands the enormity of those analogies, with Seigle being one of the most decorated players to ever play in the PBA.
"Having seen and having played against [Seigle] and what he did during his time with San Miguel, it speaks for itself," he said.
And it truly is a big shadow to live up to if you're Ramos.
But safe to say, the 6-foot-4 guard is on his way, so much so that he blew the 2011 PBA MVP away.
"You know, the kid can play," Alapag said, in awe of the performance Ramos had for the Philippines. "Just seeing the poise that he played with, his ability to put it on the floor, his ability to shoot, he can finish at the rim, I was really impressed.
"And for this to be his first opportunity to showcase what he can do, it was obvious that he's going to be a staple for this team going forward."
Ramos' stock shot up after he averaged 13.8 points on 46-percent shooting from deep, to go with 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 steals in 25.3 minutes as he seamlessly embraced the go-to guy role for the national team.
It's certainly a positive for the nationals moving forward, and for Alapag, only means bad news for the opposition in the coming tournament that Ramos is already playing at this level despite still not being a professional player.
'Here's the scary part'
"That's the scary part, the fact that he's not even in the pros. I think it just speaks volumes of where he's at in his young career," he said with a smile as he gave a big stamp of approval for this youthful pool.
"I'm looking forward to him and the rest of the guys as they continue on."
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