For now, Thirdy Ravena is not thinking about whether he can join Gilas Pilipinas for the November window of the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers.
For him and the brass of B.League club San-En, the priority is getting the 6-foot-3 Asian import out of the country.
“Wala pa naman kaming conversation on that. Ang pinoproblema pa lang namin now is how to get to Japan. Just this alone got us a three-month delay. So, ‘yun muna,” the Ateneo product told Tiebreaker Times.
Ravena has already missed the first game of San-En this season, though. The NeoPhoenix bowed to the Chiba Jets, 65-83, Saturday afternoon.
The second generation cager has said his worst-case scenario is missing an entire month of games.
But regarding Gilas, he still does not know whether the team will allow him to come back and train, and later on compete in the FIBA bubble.
“I have to bring it up to them because it’s Gilas. We’ll see,” said Ravena about asking permission from Phoenix Co. Ltd. president Kenjiro Hongo.
Back in February, he had 23 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two blocks during Gilas’ win over Indonesia.
Gilas program director Tab Baldwin, though, is not optimistic about Ravena’s availability for the games against South Korea and Indonesia.
Currently committed for the November window are Isaac Go, Matt and Mike Nieto, Rey Suerte, Allyn Bulanadi, and Jaydee Tungcab.
