Dwight Ramos says upset vs. Latvia in FIBA OQT was ‘best win of my career’

Not a few fans expected the undermanned Gilas Pilipinas to crash out early in the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Riga, Latvia.

 And then the Nationals started conjuring magic, first by pulling the rug from under the host country, 89-80, in their Group A opener.

[RELATED STORY: Justin Brownlee sizzles as Gilas Pilipinas shock world no. 6 Latvia for strong start in FIBA OQT]

And then they punched a ticket to the semifinals to face off against Marcelinho Hertas and Bruno Caboclo of world no. 12 Brazil.

By this time, the expectations were high for the 11-man squad led by the legendary coach Tim Cone. Gilas also knew it could win the whole thing and grab the much-coveted Paris 2024 berth.

[ALSO READ: 'We already bought our tickets': Gilas coach Tim Cone bares team surprised with semis-clinching feat in FIBA OQT]

Unfortunately, they didn’t.

When the dust settled at the Arena Riga last July 6, Dwight Ramos and the rest of Gilas Pilipinas felt as if something punctured their hearts.

“After we lost the game against Brazil, we felt like we should’ve won the whole tournament. It still felt like a disappointment to us,” Ramos told members of the media during the Behind the Hoops fan meet event organized by Lawson, partnership with Dwight's B.League team Levanga Hokkaido.

It’s hard to blame him.

Gilas was there at the beginning against Brazil, leading by as many as 12 points in the second period. Then came the third period, where Gilas Pilipinas seemingly forgot how to play the right way as the Brazilians outgunned them, 24-6.

Things went downhill for the Filipino contingent from there.

[ALSO READ: ‘Now we know' | After impressive FIBA OQT campaign, Tim Cone insists Gilas needs to keep getting better]

Still, the 6-foot-5 guard took pride in the fact that Gilas proved it can go neck-and-neck against the best teams in the world, as evidenced by the win against the world no. 6 Latvia.

It was easily the biggest win of the 25-year-old cager’s sterling career.

“I think the win was like the best win of my career. That’s what it felt like. I think a lot of people thought we weren’t gonna get to the semis,” he said.

Filipino fans stayed up late or trooped to the venue to celebrate that victory, which marked the first time a Philippine team beat a European squad in 64 years.

Ramos extended the team’s gratitude to their supporters.

“I just wanna say thank you. Even when we’re playing far away there’s a lot of Filipinos in the stadium,” he said.

“Of course everybody here staying up watching late at night gives you extra motivation when we play.”

(With reports from Xander Lauren Cipriano/One Sports Digital)