Thirdy Ravena was full of regret after absorbing a tough Game One loss
The young Ateneo Blue Eagles had just rallied back from their worst first quarter performance this season, gaining the lead for the first time, 65-64, with 34.6 seconds remaining.
“We fought, just like what we do every single game, we fight,” third-year forward Thirdy Ravena reflected. “Even though things did not seem okay sa start naman, we just tried to play with our hearts and not let the gravity of the game intimidate us.
“Just play our own game. We just played team basketball.”
Sophomore Matt Nieto converted on a tough floater against Aljun Melecio during the sequence and was fouled by the La Salle rookie. Nieto though did not convert on the bonus but was able to get the rebound to make up for the miss. And the ball found its way to the hands of Thirdy Ravena.
A play prior to Nieto’s shot, Ravena turned the ball but the Green Archers were not able to take advantage of it as the Blue Eagles were able to force a 24-second violation.
Lightning does not strike twice however. As Ravena drove to the lane, Kib Montalbo, the league’s steals leader at 3.0 per game, swiped the ball away from Ravena leading to a Jeron Teng basket that gave La Salle the lead for good and, more importantly, a 1-0 series lead.
First-year Ateneo head coach Tab Baldwin tried to defend his player, saying that a foul should have been called on Montalbo.
“I’m not very happy about the opportunity that Thirdy had, I think it’s pretty clear that he was fouled,” Baldwin said.
“We all – thousands and thousands of people, millions around the country – expect players to make big plays. Well I expect referees to make the correct calls too.”
Ravena though was hard on himself, offering no excuses for the error he committed.
“I think I have no excuse for what I did. It was a very bad mental mistake on my part.
“Matt just made a foul-counted shot and I should have just given him the ball. I have no excuse for it,” Ravena, who had six turnovers in the game, lamented.
The UAAP Finals neophyte shared that he was overwhelmed by the big stage that led to a poor 2-for-9 shooting night. He though was already warned by his brother Kiefer about this but did not heed his advice.
“Ang sinabi niya lsa akin na galingan ko, wag lang ako ma-overwhelm, just enjoy the game,” the 21 year old shared.
“Siguro baliktad yung ginawa ko, na-overwhelm ako masyado doon sa laro. That was a very … parang tight yung start ko.”
With their backs against the wall, Ravena and the Blue Eagles cannot sulk. In just three days, they will once again head back to the hard court but now, their season is on the line. The all-around forward vows that they will bounce back and extend the series to a winner-take-all Game Three.
“Lalaban kami, we’ve been doing it the entire season. Not everyone really expected us to reach this far,” he said.
“The job is not yet over.”
