I’ll say it now so people will stop asking before they even start:
No, I am not Gabby Ramos’ brother or cousin. She is not my niece and for the love of everything holy, I am not her father (I’m not THAT old).
Unfortunately, there is no relation. You may find this hard to believe, but Dwight and Eli are not related to me either (even though the resemblance is uncanny). Nope, no blood shared. We tried tracing it back to maybe La Salle legend Manny Ramos, but not even he could link our various Ramos branches together.
Gabby Ramos is a Ramos all her own. And after spending a week with her traveling to the other end of the world, I’m convinced: She’s the best one out of all of us.
When Jordan Brand told us that SLAM PH was going to be sent to Paris during the Opening Week of the Olympics, I had my bags packed within the same hour. As more details came in, we got to learn about The One – a global on-on-one tournament featuring boys and girls all over the world, competing under the shadow of sport’s greatest spectacle.
The immediate next question was, who are we sending?
Enter Earl and Gabby.
Apologies in advance to one Mr. John Earl S. Medina. This is a WSLAM issue so Gabby’s going to get a larger chunk of the literary real estate here. But it must be said: Earl is the future of basketball in the country. He’s got it all – a killer handle, a super sharp jab package, strength, IQ, and the sweetest jumper I’ve ever seen from a high schooler.
One day, I’ll put together a couple thousand words about why Earl Medina is one of the most exciting basketball players in the Philippines. I have a feeling a long and fruitful career ahead of him will give me plenty of opportunities to do that.
In the meantime, let’s talk about Gabby.
You’d be hard pressed to find a prospect as exciting as her. The combination of size, ability, and most of all, toughness is not something you see everyday. “I’m a big, yeah, but I’m also more than just one kind of a big, you know?” Gabby asked me while we were on the way to Paris.
I didn’t know yet, then. In the eternal words of Dr. O’Neal, I was not familiar with her game. Not yet.
At Gilas, Gabby almost exclusively plays the five – as the lead big on the Youth Team or backing up the GOAT Jack Animam. With her elite rebounding ability and larger-than-her-body skills at defending opposing centers, you wouldn’t wonder for a second why that’s the case. But the bag that Gabby brought to The One Tournament should’ve been checked by customs, charged extra by the airline, and K9-sniffed for illegal substances.
Against the best players her age from around the world, Gabby whipped out an all-caps DEADLY triple-threat, an ultra-snappy handle package, and the quickest launch on an absolute laser of a jumper, all while keeping up the threat of a lethal rip-through straight to a strong finish at the basket.
She couldn’t be guarded. People in the venue and people watching on the livestream who had known nothing about Gabby (or for some, even the Philippines) found themselves suddenly rooting for this poker-faced killa. But how could you not? She walked into the venue with the Philippine flag draped over her shoulders, she said no words but spoke so much with the focus in her eyes, she was skilled, locked in, and played every possession like it meant the world to her.

Gabby had – and I mean no hyperbole when I say this – the entire place rocking when she hit back to back to back jumpers in the quarterfinals. The last one, she pulled without dribbling, without jabbing, nothing. The ref handed her the rock, she stared at her defender, and no-hesi pulled one from deep. Nylon. The Parisian theater retro-fitted to house a Jordan Brand tournament literally shook immediately as the ball went through the hoop.
“I couldn’t hear anything, to be honest,” Gabby would tell me afterwards. “I just really wanted them to give me the ball back ‘coz I was in such a rhythm. I knew the next one was going in too.”
For the record, it did. Gabby didn’t miss another shot, booking her slot in the semis.
While her run didn’t end with the championship, Gabby proved to anyone paying attention a few things: A. She’s truly an elite, world-class-level talent. B. She’s ready for whatever’s next. College, a bigger role at Gilas, The One Year 2, whatever it may be. Just make sure you get it to Gabby ASAP. She’s in a rhythm. She’s not missing.
I’ll never forget that Paris trip: partly because it was my first time in the city of lights, partly because I hung out with Spike Lee. But mostly, what I’ll remember most is how Gabby Ramos played and equally as importantly, how she was as a teammate during a one-on-one tournament.
Earl played earlier in the day, he fell into a tough part of the draw and had to win out to make it to the quarter finals. At the end of a really tight matchup with an opponent who plays for the Chinese National Team, Earl unfortunately lost and wasn’t able to advance.
The moment the final buzzer sounded, though, Gabby ran to the court, took the Philippine flag and wrapped it around Earl, raising his hand and making him smile. “You a winner, Earl!” she yelled. “You a winner!”
Gabby is already a great basketball player. But there are so many of those everywhere – great basketball players. What makes Gabby Ramos rare is she’s an elite, world-class-level talent with a killer mentality that, at a young age, genuinely cares so much about the people around her.
Throughout our trip, our little group of six Filipinos realized quickly we were gonna be bonded for life. A week in Europe, at the Olympics, the romance of it all makes it easy to never forget who you were there with. But under all of that, I believe our bond was made stronger because young Gabby Ramos is such a selfless teammate.
She was considerate of her mom, Sylvia, when we went on long walks, she offered to carry things when we lugged around photo and video equipment everywhere, she would message to say she saved us seats at breakfast because she made it a point to wake up early and do so. She was complimentary of her opponents after wins and losses.
At every turn, on every possession, Gabby played the five when she could run point, she rebounded and defended when she could be pulling threes from the logo. This is who she is on court, this is who she is in life.

One day, people will read this and laugh. What do you mean THE Gabby Ramos wasn’t a do-it-all stat-sheet-stuffing all-caps STAR who you built the offense around? What do you mean there were people who didn’t know who she was? That day’s coming sooner or later, but until then, I’m flexing on the fact that I met her before any of you did.
No, I am not Gabby Ramos’ brother or cousin.
I wish I was though.