Thirdy Ravena has been in San-En for the past three years.
And ever since the Filipino contingent in the B.League grew last year, one of the top things he looks forward to is facing them.
After all, it gives him a semblance of home.
“Of course, it’s always fun to play against my Filipino brothers.
“Whoever that may be, we already know there’s always going to be a challenge at the back of your head, trying to outplay each other. But all I try to think about is really trying to focus on the system, try not to get carried away with the matchup, and not trying to do my own things but just sticking to what we need to do as a team in order to win,” said Ravena.
Last weekend over at Toyohashi City Gymnasium, Ravena had his first match-up against a Filipino import this season.
And he and the NeoPhoenix hosted his good pal Dwight Ramos and Levanga Hokkaido.
It was a good weekend though for San-En as it swept the weekend series, 76-57 and 93-80, to even their slate.
There were multiple times during the games were Ravena defended Ramos.
“I guess it’s more of a natural thing. Just looking at the matchups and seeing who we can guard or who’s in our position or who we can play to be as efficient as possible,” he remarked about defending his Gilas brother.
“We felt like it was an easy decision to guard Dwight since we’re both pretty much the same size and I know how he plays and he’s a great player. So I think it’s just the decision that we make on the spot and it’s not really much of an out-of-the-system thing.”
Statistically, Ramos did better compared to Ravena with the former averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.0 steals while the latter normed 7.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists.
But of course, it was Ravena who had a better weekend as they were able to rack up two wins.
This is just the start of many Filipino matchups for Ravena.
He’ll face Shinshu’s Matt Aquino on Dec. 14, Kyoto’s Matt Wright on Dec. 17-18, Nagoya’s Ray Parks on Dec. 28, Hiroshima’s Justine Baltazar on Jan. 6-7, and Shiga’s Kiefer on Feb. 4-5.
There’s also a good chance that by their clash against Ryukyu on Feb. 11-12, Thirdy might face another one of his Gilas teammates if the stars align and Jay Washington does not get renewed.
For Thirdy, he just can’t wait to not just face them but also grow with them in a foreign land.
“For me, they’re my family because my family hasn’t even been to Japan yet.
“Seeing my Filipino brothers here just brings me closer to home, reminds me of home, and makes me feel at home whenever I’m with them. That’s the closest thing to home for me, so it’s always a great opportunity, it’s always a great feeling cause I play with them too. It’s always fun. It’s always good to catch up with all the Filipino guys out here before the game and after the game, so nothing but a great experience overall,” he said.
