ANTIPOLO — When Thirdy Ravena reads the current standings, he will see that Ateneo enjoys first place in the standings with 13 victories and zero losses.
But that is irrelevant to him.
“Business is not done. Just because we’re 13-0 doesn’t mean that we get to celebrate and be complacent. It’s actually the biggest trap possible for us, is to think that it means something about the championship,” said the two-time UAAP champion. “So for us, 13-0 means it’s basically 13-0.
“It doesn’t mean anything else, anything more than that. What we’re trying to do is that we’re trying to focus on trying to prepare for the next game in order to make sure that we do our jobs.”
Now in his final year, all Ravena wants to do is to leave Ateneo with another gold medal on his neck. Not even Ateneo’s most dominant win so far in the UAAP Season 82 Men’s Basketball Tournament — an 88-51 rout over National University on Saturday — could drag his focus away from the real task at hand.
“You can’t avoid it. It’s always in the talks. You see it on social media, you hear your friends talking about it. They ask you kung kaya ba mag-sweep.
“What we do is that we really look at what the people who are in the team look at, which is to leave a legacy to be the best team that we can possibly be,” said the second-generation cager.
“I think winning just follows that, and if we trust one another just like how we showed in this game, ipagpatuloy lang namin and we will be better. It’s gonna be good,” the 22-year-old continued.
In close to 19 minutes of action, Ravena produced 15 points alongside four rebounds and three assists. But his defense caught the eye most in the contest. He and his teammates helped each other limit NU ace Dave Ildefonso to just two points in the game after he averaged 16.0 points prior.
“Well, it was just my job, and honestly kahit sino sabihin sa akin ni coach Tab na depensahan, I’m just doing my job basically. But it was a good game for us defensively. Ange (Kouame) was there blocking shots. Everyone was there helping one another,” explained the two-time Finals MVP.
“That’s why siguro nakatulong din kahit papano sa scoring ni Dave.”
In what is a fitting culmination to the elimination round, the Blue Eagles put their spotless record to the test against their neighbor, University of the Philippines. The Fighting Maroons will be out for revenge after their first-round humiliation, and Ravena is up for the occasion.
“Nothing shorter than a very tough game. We know that they’ve wanted to beat us ever since. Alam namin they’re gonna prepare. Alam namin na they’re motivated, but we’re gonna do whatever it takes (to win),” he declared.
“We’re also motivated and we want to win, and we wanna play for one another.”
