DWIGHT Ramos has yet to log a single second in an Ateneo jersey, but Meralco coach Norman Black has no doubt that Gilas has already found its newest superstar.
"My feeling is kung si Dwight pumasok sa draft this year, he would've been the no. 1 pick," he told Spin Zoom In on Thursday.
Ramos has definitely made believers out of his performance in the 2021 Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers, posting 13.8 points on 46-percent shooting from threes, alongside 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2.0 steals in 25.3 minutes to become the torchbearer for this youthful Gilas Pilipinas crew.
More than his on-court brilliance, though, Ramos' leadership by example has made him stand out from his peers -- a trait which Black noticed in their time together at Inspire Sports Academy in Calamba.
"Magaling talaga siya. Mabait siya. Leader siya pero tahimik, hindi siya maingay," recalled the former national team deputy while also praising the versatility of the Fil-Am guard.
"He can play the point guard position up to the power forward position."
With Ramos, all of Black's worries of a potential inavailability is eased given that he has committed with the Blue Eagles, with its chief backer Manny V. Pangilinan also the one supporting Gilas Pilipinas.
"Ang takot ko, ang problema moving forward, if ang players bumalik sa UAAP o bumalik sa NCAA, what happens to the college players? Will they still be allowed to play for the national team? Ngayon, syempre ok lang kasi walang laro. But in case of Dwight, he'll be there. Fortunately, he's in the national team and his school is Ateneo, his coach is also in Ateneo. So at least, he'll always be available for the RP team."
And it only means good news for Gilas moving forward, with Ramos expected to be front and center of that growth.
"I'm expecting big things from him moving forward," Black said.
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