By the end of October, there will be nine Filipinos playing in the B.League.
It’s eight more than the number of Filipino players in Japan’s premier league a season ago.
For Thirdy Ravena — the first-ever player signed by the league’s Asian Player Quota program, he is just glad that there are many more Filipinos willing to take the risk and play abroad.
“It’s an even greater feeling to see people coming in after you go, after you opened the door for them,” said the 24-year-old Ateneo product during the launch of Vivamax’s documentary ‘Local Hero‘. “Kasi nga, it’s something that’s bigger than me, you know? I can do all sorts of stats, I can achieve great things, but what legacy would I leave behind? That would always be a question.
“I felt like I was able to answer that pretty quick, after my first year.”
Of course, Thirdy was renewed for a second and third season by San-En.
Others who followed suit are his older brother Kiefer Ravena (Shiga), Juan Gomez de Liano (Tokyo Z), Javi Gomez de Liano (Ibaraki), Kemark Carino (Aomori), Bobby Ray Parks Jr.. (Nagoya), Kobe Paras (Niigata), and Dwight Ramos (Toyama). One more player is set to be revealed to have signed with a B.League club in a couple of days.
LOOK AROUND YOU. THIS DIDNT EVEN EXIST BEFORE. WE CREATED THIS 🔥 THIS THE REAL MISSION AND ITS BIGGER THAN ALL OF US pic.twitter.com/ZqagDME4Xj
— Thirdy (@ThirdyRavenaaa) September 5, 2021
Thirdy though admitted that his rookie season was challenging to say the least.
It has been well-documented that he arrived to the NeoPhoenix late due to travel restrictions. He battled both COVID-19 and numerous injuries as well that resulted to him just playing 18 games.
But he had to stay strong and prove to Japan that Filipinos are not just marketable, they are also tough.
“Ang laking responsibility ‘yun, especially nga na ikaw ‘yung nauna. You always want to show na talagang kayang-kaya, you want to stay strong,” he recalled.
“Kung mag-break down ako dito sa Japan, it might not be a good look for the other guys who are looking up to us, the younger generation, who are possibly thinking of playing abroad.”
Of course, Marck Espejo (Tokyo), Bryan Bagunas (Oita Miyoshi), and Jaja Santiago (Saitama) were the pioneers of Filipinos playing as imports in Japan.
It has also paved the way for Filipinos in other sports to play as imports in Japan as well as Quinley Quezada (Chiba) and Sarina Bolden (Saitama) are also playing in the WE.League.
“Marami kang pagdadaanan dito sa Japan, both on and off the court,” he bared. “It’s gonna be a rollercoaster ride, but at the end of the day, you wanna stay strong para doon sa lahat ng mga humahanga, lahat ng mga nangangarap, na basketball players. Pati ‘yung mga gustong pumunta hindi lang sa Japan, but internationally, as well.
“Being called that name is a responsibility, and I feel like, ginagawa ko naman ‘yung makakaya ko to live up to that name and to just keep moving forward and keep blazing the trail for all of the Filipinos.”
There are many more Filipinos carving a new path elsewhere.
Jack Animam is playing for Serbian club Radnicki, Kai Sotto was previously part of G League Ignite and will play for Australian team Adelaide 36ers, while Lebron Lopez will be part of the pioneering batch of Overtime Elite.
And for Ravena, the influx of Filipinos playing as imports all over the world just shows that the country’s athletes are ready for the global game.
“The Philippines is for the world.
“Hindi lang tayo meant sa loob ng Pilipinas, but as people, marami tayong kayang gawin. We’re actually good at a lot of things. Just seeing all of these things come to life is just a beautiful feeling for me. And I’m sure, the Filipino community is very proud to support and watch all of these athletes playing abroad,” he closed.
