For Kiefer Ravena, Sunday night’s Game Five of their 2018 Philippine Cup semifinals with the Magnolia Hotshots could have had yielded a much more different story had his backcourt partner Kevin Alas did not get hurt.
Alas unfortunately incurred what seemed to be a right knee injury with just 40 seconds into the match, after he drove hard to the rim. The 26-year-old guard struggled to get up that he needed to be assisted by his fellow Road Warriors.
Photo by PBA Images
“That was big,” rued the super rookie. “Kinda messed up our rotation. Wala pang one minute into the game and he was one of those who were motivating us as one of our co-captains.
“He was really motivating us before the game.”
The Road Warriors though still managed to make it a long Sunday night for the Hotshots, making it nip and tuck until Magnolia got itself going in the fourth by opening the frame with a 16-4 rally for a 75-62 lead and never looked back.
From there, NLEX had started to miss the services of Alas — who was averaging 9.75 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.2 assists prior to Sunday — as they failed to mount a comeback attempt and bowed, 78-87.
Ravena though gave credit to the defense of Magnolia — who are now a win away from booking a ticket to the Finals for the first time since 2014 — as it had limited the Road Warriors to just 37.5 shooting from the field.
“Credit to the defense of Magnolia as well,” said Ravena, who led NLEX with 21 points. “Siguro ganun talaga. Breaks of the game wasn’t going on our side.
“But we’ll take this loss in stride, learn from it, and see how it goes in the next game.”
And speaking of next game, Ravena hopes that Alas will be available for Game Six, as they all aim to live to fight another day. “We’re praying for him. He’s an integral part of this system and an integral part of this franchise,” he said.
“We wish him the best and hopefully, he can play next game.”
