Of all the adjustments NLEX is going through in the 2021 Honda PBA Philippine Cup resumption, playing without Kiefer Ravena is the hardest.
Head coach Yeng Guiao admitted shamelessly as the Road Warriors began life sans their star guard on Wednesday. They began against Alaska at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor.
“There are a lot of adjustments,” said the straightforward mentor.
“But of course, the biggest adjustment for us is playing without Kiefer.”
The 27-year-old is expected to miss a significant amount of games after flying to Japan last Wednesday. He needs to submit his requirements in order for him to play for the Shiga Lakestars in the 2021-22 B.League season.
It immediately drew curiosity as to how NLEX would react without the second-generation cager. Ravena normed 15.8 points on 42.3-percent shooting from three, 6.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in their first four games.
Fortunately for Guiao, the remaining Road Warriors showed that they can play fine despite the gaping hole Ravena has left.
Old reliables JR Quinahan, Kevin Alas, Jericho Cruz, and Kenneth Ighalo stepped up against the Aces. They all connived to steer their side to a late-game pull-away towards the 84-74 triumph for their third win of the tournament.
Quinahan top-scored with 18 points, while Alas made 17 points. Cruz and Ighalo – who played his first game of the season – had 15 each in the triumph that saw them come back from 10 points down in the third canto.
Guiao said that they will not look at particular players to fill in Ravena’s shoes, as they have to step up altogether.
“Ang mentality namin is we cannot step into the shoes of Kiefer if we’re just looking for one or two guys to step into those shoes. We have to do it by committee,” said the decorated bench tactician.
“And true enough, dito sa game na ‘to, si Ken Ighalo nag-step up. Jericho is also a big factor stepping into the shoes of Kiefer. We’d like to be able to distribute that responsibility to the rest of the team, hindi lang sa isa o dalawa.”
And so, all the Road Warriors will embrace the same approach as the conference progresses.
“Nasabi ko na rin na losing Kiefer is like losing your right hand. Parang nawalan kami ng kanang kamay. But we have no choice but to grow another hand or look for a prosthetic,” Guiao said.
“Hangga’t maaari gagawan mo ng remedyo yung pagkawala ni Kiefer. We have no choice but to just work harder, play smarter, make the best use of our opportunities that are given to us.”
