Gilas Pilipinas tactician Tab Baldwin doubled down on the praise Indonesia coach Rajko Toroman heaped on Dwight Ramos after the do-it-all guard led the Filipinos to an unbeaten campaign in the FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.

Toroman called Ramos as the “biggest surprise” among the current pool of national team members, saying the Filipino-American is “looking like a European player.”

Baldwin shared the same sentiments.

“I think I’ve said that since I first saw Dwight, particularly if we can continue his progress as a point guard,” Baldwin said.

“I think he feels the game really well, he sees the floor really well, he has got good size and strength to be able to play in a physical, competitive competition like European basketball is.”

Ramos closed out the qualifiers with an all-around 19-point, 5-assist, 3-rebound, and 2-steal effort in the Philippines’ 82-77 win over Korea on Sunday, June 20.

Seeing action in all of Philippines’ six qualifying games, the 6-foot-4 stalwart averaged impressive numbers across the board of 13.8 points on a 46% clip from long range to go with 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 2 steals.

“Certainly we don’t know Dwight’s future yet, but I think that this is a young man that can play this game at a high level pretty much anywhere in the world,” Baldwin said.

While he lets his game do the talking, Ramos seeks to lead the national team not just by his actions but also through his words.

Baldwin has long challenged Ramos to be a vocal leader due to his prominent role in the team.

“I want to be more vocal out there on the floor, kind of guide the teammates because I think I know a little bit about what coach Tab wants from us,” said the 22-year-old.

“[I] just think I need to be able to relay that message from coach Tab to the rest of the team a little bit more smoothly.” – Rappler.com