Dwight Ramos says 'shock' loss to Taiwan will 'make Gilas better'

MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas versatile guard Dwight Ramos believes the shocking loss to Taiwan last Thursday in their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers final window can serve the Philippine team in good stead.

Playing before a hostile environment in Taipei, the Filipinos trailed by as many as 13 points, managed to retake the lead heading into the final three minuets of the match behind Justin Brownlee's hot shooting, before cooling down the stretch.

The Taiwanese in the end, made two three-point shots come crunch time to eke out a thrilling 91-84 win against Gilas.

It's a tough trip for us, but it's what makes us better. We're winning a lot of games before, but now we're starting to lose. It's humbling for us," said Ramos in an interview posted by One Sports via its social media platform just as Gilas was preparing to leave Taipei on Friday and head to Auckland, New Zealand.

The 26-year-old Filipino-American said "it's not too good when Gilas wins too much," noting that they will only "get complacent."

"It's good that we got humbled, so before the (FIBA) Asia Cup, we'll know we got to prepare harder than this," added Ramos, who plays for the Levanga Hokkaido club team in the Japan B. League.

Ramos was the lone local bright spot for Gilas after scoring 15 points, with Brownlee doing much of the heavy lifting on offense with 39 points on 8-of-11 shooting from downtown.

Meanwhile, the 36-year-old Brownlee knows Gilas will have to learn their lessons quick from that loss, aware that the national squad's assignment to close the third and final window won't be a walk in the park.

"We just gotta take evert experience we have and try to learn from it," Brownlee said, in the same interview by One Sports.

"I guess, learning to play in a tough environment and we just (need to) be ready, (because) teams will just come out and play their best game on us," he added.

Gilas, which sustained its first loss after winning the first four games in the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers, eyes a bounce-back win when it plays host New Zealand in an expected hostile environment in Auckland.

The Philippines and New Zealand enter Sunday's showdown tied at 4-1 in Group B.

Both squads are eyeing for a win in an effort to get better seeding heading to the FIBA Asia Cup tournament proper, slated this August in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.