Kiefer Ravena — who has been with the Gilas program since he was 17 years old — admitted that he was surprised with the level of competition during his debut with the seniors team last Friday, when SMART Gilas Pilipinas faced Japan.
“Kahit ako nagulat eh,” admitted the 24-year-old, who finished with just one point, two rebounds, and an assist during the Philippines’ 77-71 win. “Sabi ko na lang kailangan talaga you have to suck it up and just contribute. If I can’t score or I’m not the main scorer of the team, I have to make stops, try to get steals, try to get easy points on lay-ups.”
Playing off the bench and providing spark were the roles previously played by scoring sensation Terrence Romeo. Romeo was not able to suit up for the first window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers due to a right knee injury.
With this, Ravena needed to at least supply the same energy that Romeo provides to the team.
After the game, Ravena shared that he received a random text.
“Nagulat ako, Terrence gave me a suprise text. Sabi niya, I need to stay composed mas lalo sa mga ganitong laro,” Ravena told Tiebreaker Times.
“Nung pinapanood ko kasi siya parang hindi siya e,” Romeo added during the Chooks-to-Go-hosted thanksgiving dinner for the team.
“Sabi ko lang, let the game come to him.”
Come the Chinese-Taipei game on Monday evening, Ravena showed why he is the Phenom.
SMART Gilas was down by as much as 5-19 before the skipper of Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas — together with June Mar Fajardo, Roger Pogoy, and Romeo’s favorite running-mate Calvin Abueva — was plugged into the game. And the quintet created magic on the court, slowly chipping down Chinese-Taipei’s lead, with Ravena providing seven markers during that spurt.
“Well I just tried to contribute in whatever way I can, whether playing defense with the point guard just to make sure when Kuya Jayson [Castro] rests, ‘di dumidikit kalaban or humahabol kami,” said the second overall pick in the 2017 PBA Draft.
“We’re just about giving energy, kami nina Calvin, nina Pogoy. Yun naman yung role namin sa team.”
Ravena finished the game with nine points on 2-for-5 shooting from the field, 5-for-6 from the foul stripe to go along with five assists. His outing drew praise from the best point guard in Asia himself, Jayson Casro.
“Sobrang ganda ng laro ni Kiefer. Actually isa siya sa mga nag-change ng laro, pati si June Mar. Sana magtuloy-tuloy na kasi nakuha na niya rhythm niya,” Castro remarked after SMART Gilas’ 90-83 win.
But the person who was more proud of Ravena than Castro was Romeo himself, who had been sitting in the patron section, cheering wildly with the crowd.
“Proud na proud talaga ako sa kanya.”
