From starting out with the RP youth team back in 2009, to playing against each other in the UAAP, to being teammates in exhibition games, the careers of Kiefer Ravena and Jeron Teng have always been intertwined.
Collectively, the two stalwarts have helped steer their respective schools to two UAAP championship while bagging numerous individual honors along the way.
And after eight years, the two will get to fight for flag and country once again under Chooks-Pilipinas 3×3.
“Finally, nagkaroon kami ni Jeron na maglaro talaga sa isang tournament,” Ravena said about teaming up with Teng.
Ravena and Teng played in an exhibition 3×3 game in Qatar back in 2015 and were also teammates under Mighty Sports during the 2017 Dubai International.
This time around, the stakes cannot go higher as the duo, along with Kobe Paras and JR Quinahan, will represent the Philippines in the 2017 FIBA 3×3 World Cup. Playing for the country is something that the two take to heart, saying that they embrace the pressure that comes with it.
“May kaunting pressure but pressure kasi sometimes helps in order to perform better,” Jeron Teng shared.
“Kami ni Kiefer, we go all-out when it comes to playing for the country.”
Ravena added, “We are really excited pero we are rookies pa rin talaga in this game.
“Nung nakita namin yung pool namin, malalakas na teams yun.”
Facing a tough field that includes France, Slovenia, Romania, and El Salvador, both Kiefer and Jeron are not tempering expectations for the stacked Chooks-Pilipinas 3×3 team.
“Hopefully, we can surprise and finish higher than the team we had last time,” the 23-year-old Ravena stressed.
“We really have to get along well and play together to win,” Teng, also 23, stated.
Maybe, this tournament will be their key to joining the next batch of Gilas Pilipinas cadets.
