Thirdy Ravena felt relief as he and San-En managed to split their 2021-22 B.League opening weekend series against his older brother Kiefer and Shiga.
At the brink of going 0-2 after facing an 18-point lead, Thirdy and the rest of the NeoPhoenix showed resolve. They eventually scored a come-from-behind overtime win, 101-96.
And for Thirdy, he simply feels happy that the hype of his showdown with Kiefer is over. Now, they can focus on the rest of the season.
Photo from San-En NeoPhoenix
“No matter how you look at it, we still have to think of the rest of the season,” admitted Thirdy, who had 21 points in the game along with seven rebounds and five assists. “We are very happy that we both got our wins but looking ahead, we still have fifty-eight more games. What we think about after a game is the next one.
“It’s important to enjoy the win, but we have to prepare the best that we can for the next games.”
And as Thirdy and the NeoPhoenix return to San-En, they have their sights set on giving their fans a good show next weekend at Hamamatsu Arena.
Standing in Thirdy’s way, though, is another person close to his heart. Kobe Paras and Niigata will be their next series.
Of course, Thirdy has been keeping tabs on Kobe, who has had a good start with Albirex. He has averages of 17.5 points, 2.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per game to lead his side to a 1-1 record.
(C) B.League
“We have another game against Niigata next weekend and Kobe who has played tremendous here,” shared Thirdy.
“He has been my best friend ever since growing up.”
Of course, there will be more marquee games for Thirdy this year, as there are nine Filipinos set to play in Japan’s top-tier league for this wave.
For him, it definitely fires him up.
“Definitely very excited as well. I’ve been teammates with most of them except Ray [Parks]. Definitely excited for the other Filipinos playing in the B.League.”
