If there’s such a thing as a confidence-building defeat, Kiefer Ravena believes that Shiga’s two close road losses to Chiba over the weekend were it.
“We have to use this experience for our games,” said the 6-foot combo guard.
“In our last three games against Tokyo and Chiba, we learned how to compete at a very high level, which will be beneficial for a young team like ours.”
Up against the defending champions Jets, the Lakestars were able to keep toe-to-toe with them.
Last Saturday, Ravena and the Lakestars had a chance to stun the Jets. They were down by just five, 91-86, with 2:32 remaining. But big baskets by John Mooney and Takuma Sato – coupled with misses from Ravena and Ovie Soko – doomed them in the endgame, falling 99-88.
A day later, it was the same story. This time around, it was two big treys by Fumio Nishimura that halted their upset bid.
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“I think that we had a chance to win both games,” opined Ravena, who averaged 20.5 points, 9.5 assists, and 2.5 steals during the weekend. “I’m very proud of how everyone stepped up.
“To be matched up against [Yuki] Togashi and against the defending champions, we had a lot of motivation. That team is what we want to be; that every time another team plays Shiga, we want them to realize how difficult it is to beat Shiga.”
It was not just Ravena who stepped up against Chiba. Sean O’ Mara averaged 17.5 points on 66.7-percent shooting, 9.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists. Meanwhile, Ovie Soko normed 23.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in those two games.
“As long as we play together, we keep in mind our system and playing Shiga basketball, we will always have a chance to win,” continued Ravena.
“Yes, I played well but we still lost. We’ll take this as a lesson.”
And there will be no rest for Ravena and the Lakestars (6-5) as up next are Seiya Ando and Shimane (8-3) at their home floor.
Definitely, it will be another tough day at the office for Ravena.
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“Shimane is another team that is aiming for the playoffs and is very strong,” he said. “We have to prepare our bodies and minds for that tough game.
“It won’t be an easy game but if we play within our system, we will have a chance to win.”
