Gilas Pilipinas veteran Dwight Ramos and big man AJ Edu are set to miss the Asian Games slated this September in Nagoya, Japan.
Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas executive director Erika Dy said the two national players will be see action in the B.League Manila Games on Sept. 9-10 with their respective Japanese teams and their schedules are in conflict with 20th Asian Games.
The 6-foot-4 Ramos is currently playing for the Levanga Hokkaido while the shot-blocking Edu reinforces the Gunma Crane Thunders.
The two Japan B.League squads will face off in back-to-back games in September at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Safe to say that Dwight and AJ won’t be available. Conflict yung B. League Manila Games, and they won’t be able to join (Gilas) in the Asian Games,” Dy said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum.
The 27-year-old Ramos averaged 13.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists for Gilas in the first six games of the opening window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers.
The 6-foot-10 Edu, on the other hand, averaged 5.7 points and 7.0 rebounds for Gilas Pilipinas.
Dy also said that Meralco’s Brandon Bates and Blackwater’s Sedrick Barefield have been included in the long list of players submitted to the Asian Games organizing committee.
The Philippines will be defending the men’s basketball championship it won in 2023 in Hanzhou, China, where the Philippines defeated Jordan in the final round to capture the gold.
That basketball championship marked the country’s first since it last won the tournament in 1962 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Asian Games men’s basketball competition is slated from Sept. 10 to 20.
