Ever since Chito Victolero took over the Hotshots franchise two years ago, they have been a team that are hard to stop when they get their momentum going. This has led to four straight semifinals appearances and the widest margin of victories during that span.
Kiefer Ravena, who entered the PBA last October, knows this and knows just how nasty the Hotshots can be.
“‘Pag lumalamang sila, grabe sila mag-alaga ng lamang. And for us to get better, we have to learn how to take care of leads. Hindi puwede na lalamang ka ng malaki, bibigay ka tapos ilalaban mo sa dulo,” the 6-foot combo guard shared.
“Kung kaya mong maglagay ng cushion or gawing mas madali yung yung game sa end game, gagawin naman namin.”
During Game Four, the 24-year-old showed that he has that instinct as well.
All by his lonesome, Ravena answered every bucket poured in by Rome De La Rosa, Mark Barroca, and Bambam Gamalinda during the last three minutes of the contest, to give NLEX a comfortable double-digit edge.
“Nalagay namin yung sarili namin sa sitwasyon na maganda eh — na medyo malaki yung lamang namin coming into the fourth quarter, if I’m not mistaken,” recalled Ravena, as he scored 11 of his 20 points in the final frame.
“That lead really was something na ayaw kong pakawalan kasi ang hirap kalaban ng Magnolia eh.”
Takes to his efforts, the Road Warriors were able to level the series at two-all after taking a 91-79 win — their biggest win over the Hotshots in the last two years.
The second-generation cager deflected all the credit to his teamamtes, sharing that Larry Fonacier, Alex Mallari, and Kevin Alas all made big buckets as well, while Raul Soyud — who had nine points on a perfect 4-of-4 clip — made the Hotshots’ big men work.
Going into Game Five on Sunday, Ravena — who was battling a case of the flu — hopes that they can ride the momentum they gained from this game come the pivotal contest.
“Hopefully, we carry this momentum. The series is tied, it’s now a best-of-three,” added Ravena, who is averaging 16.25 points, 3.25 rebounds, and 4.25 assits in the series. “We should take this one, enjoy and savor it for a bit, go back to the drawing board. In a few hours, we’ll wake up and practice because we know that Magnolia will make those adjustments.
“So hopefully, we’d take care of business sa side namin.”
