AFTER the recent FIBA Qualifiers, it didn’t take long for Dwight Ramos and AJ Edu to suit up in front of the Filipino crowd once again.
This time it was for the Gunma Crane Thunders and Levanga Hokkaido, respectively, as the B.League launched its inaugural Manila Games 2026 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The exhibition served plenty of purposes, namely being in celebration of the 70th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Japan, the 10th anniversary of the league, as well as the first-ever preseason games held overseas.
READ: Gunma wallops Levanga in Day 1 of B.League Manila exhibition
But for Ramos and Edu, it was a homecoming of sorts, even at the expense of going against each other.
“In terms of the atmosphere, it was great, I felt like I was playing for Gilas again. It’s just always great being back here in the Philippines, and hopefully this can happen more often," Ramos said.
“It's a privilege,” Edu added. “It feels kind of weird, kind of like two worlds colliding. It's a blessing. I'm grateful for just people here being able to see B-League basketball in person.”
“We're definitely friends off the court and teammates on the national team. When we're on the court representing our teams in the B-League, as soon as we cross the line, it's different.”
After all the pleasantries, though, it was clear for the two Asian imports that there is still a game to be won, regardless if its just a preseason game on home soil.
"Yeah, I mean it's nice to see AJ on the court, but when I was playing, I don't think about, ’this is my teammate in the national team.’ I'm with a different team, he's with a different team, and we're just competing, trying to get better," Ramos said.
Meanwhile, Edu had some extra motivation, as the arena also had familiar faces cheering on in the sidelines.
“Obviously, it's nice to have the crowd and playing for my family, too,” Edu said. “That definitely is a motivation. I just tried to stay focused on staying true to my game and executing.”
And the focus showed, as it was a merciless barrage for Gunma, waving off Levanga’s height advantage for 16 triples in just twice as many attempts, averaging over 50 percent on every scoring options on the floor.
Ramos finished second in scoring for Levanga with 13 points and three triples. Meanwhile, Edu had an off-night scoring wise with only three points but had seven rebounds, and four assists in the 98-81 blowout win.
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