Entering Window 5 of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers, Dwight Ramos was the second leading scorer of Gilas, averaging 13.8 points per game.
But going up against Jordan, Gilas head coach Chot Reyes had one assignment for the 6-foot-4 versatile guard — stop Dar Tucker.
Tucker, who stands at 6-foot-3, is averaging 18.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Along with Freddy Ibrahim, the two formed the two-headed backcourt beast of the Falcons.
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“It’s a luxury to have a player like Dwight [Ramos] and not only him, even across the board in this team. Yeah, we talked about it, and Dwight was going to have… we felt he was the best matchup because of the size, and how hard Tucker goes in the basket, and his weight, and his strength,” said Reyes.
“We felt Dwight was the best matchup for him, so we talked about it. We talked to him about it; we prepared him for it.”
On Friday morning (Manila time), the 24-year-old who plays for Hokkaido struggled on the offensive end, finishing with just five points on 2-of-11 shooting with six turnovers.
Still, he made up for it by doing the yeoman job for Gilas in the game-high 32 minutes he was in the game.
Ramos also got four steals, four assists, and three rebounds while helping limit Tucker to 23 points on 14 attempts.
And his outing earned and sacrifice earned praise from Reyes.
“To his credit, he really did his job well. And, we knew it was gonna take away his offense. obviously. But his contribution was mainly to be Tucker’s stopper first.”
