Twelve seconds into his PBA debut, Kiefer Ravena dished out a beautiful assist to Raul Soyud underneath that gave the NLEX Road Warriors their first basket for the 43rd season of the PBA. And it was just the start of things to come for the rookie and his new team.
During his PBA debut, the 6-foot guard was all over the place, scoring 18 points on an efficient 7-for-11 clip while dishing out 12 dimes. He was also a menace on the board, grabbing seven rebounds, and on defense, stealing the ball twice.
In short, Ravena made it look easy.
“He’s exactly what we’re looking for — what the doctor ordered for us,” said Guiao, who is seldom lost for words.
As easy as it looked, the two-time UAAP Most Valuable Player said that it was his teammates who had made the change in scenery seamless
“We played a very tough KIA team, good thing Larry [Fonacier] saved us with that foul-counted three,” shared Ravena after NLEX’s 119-115 win over the Kia Picanto.
“Madali kasi … I mean it’s easier to have those assists with Larry Fonacier on the wing, Rabeh [Al-Hussaini] and Asi [Taulava] inside, Kevin [Alas] running the point also.
“Madali yung conversion rate ng assist mo kasi pro na itong mga ito. Kung hindi naman nila nashoo-shoot ‘yun, wala din akong assist, so ang credit dapat nasa kanila kasi sila naman naka-shoot nun,” the second generation cager pointed out.
Though facing older and more mature opponents is nothing new to him, Ravena admitted that the pro ranks are far different from what he has experienced. The 24-year-old felt lucky that his first shot attempt went in, as it helped raise his confidence.
“Oo siyempre nanibago pa rin. Sobrang suwerte ko lang na na-shoot ko kaagad ‘yung una kong tira, kaya medyo after noon, okay na, na-kalma na ako,” disclosed Ravena, who converted his first basket (a triple) a minute and 24 seconds into the game.
“Kasi talagang iniisip ko pa, baka kumapos yung tira ko or turnover agad. Sobrang lahat ‘yun, naglalaro sa utak ko. Pero nung na-shoot ‘yun, nahanap ako ni Kuya Larry, medyo kalma na ako kahit papaano.”
After his sensational debut, Ravena knows that the bar will be higher come Christmas when the Road Warriors take on the Globalport Batang Pier. But the four-time Southeast Asian Games gold medalist will not let this pressure gobble him up, saying that he will continue to stick to the system.
“Yun na nga siguro ang mahirap dun, first game pa lang, dadagdag na lang ng dadagdag.
“Pero ako, I just tried to play my game, stick to the system. We have one win on the board, and kailangan lang talaga namin mag-focus, and always remember na every game is a different game,” he said.
And this is what he did exactly 2,355 days prior to this game. After going scoreless in his first-ever UAAP Men’s Basketball game, he bounced back to score 24 points and 10 rebounds come the Ateneo Blue Eagles’ next outing.
Safe to say, his PBA debut was way better than his first foray in the UAAP.
“Oo naman. Kung [i]co-compare mo, ‘di hamak naman siguro.”
