Kiefer Ravena’s floor generalship was on vivid display on Friday night when NLEX faced TNT in 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup action.
The 6-foot point guard dished out 13 assists along with 16 points, four rebounds, and a steal as he helped the Road Warriors hand the KaTropa their first loss this conference after winning seven straight games, 126-113.
Ravena has shown significant improvement in his passing since returning from an 18-month ban. Prior to Friday, he was averaging 9.1 dimes, including a 17-assist outing in a win over Barangay Ginebra in Dubai.
When asked, the second-generation star jokingly responded with a jab at his critics.
“Well, dribble kasi ako ng dribble eh, tsaka bwakaw ako eh, so kaya tumataas yung assists ko.”
It was clearly a quip at the criticism he received from Gilas Pilipinas’ campaign in the 2019 FIBA World Cup last September.
But turning serious, Ravena said that sharing the ball well is a conscious effort not just for him, but for the whole Road Warriors. NLEX has already proven that doing so can guarantee victories.
In their first five wins in this season-ending conference, NLEX averaged 29.8 assists. In its only loss so far in the conference — at the hands of the San Miguel Beermen last October 4 in Dubai — it dished out just 21.
“Based on statistics, ‘yung only talo namin against San Miguel, we only had 21 assists. Every [other] game, lagpas ng 25 assists. So kung titignan mo, proven stat siya na ‘pag iniikot namin ‘yung bola, mas malaki ang porsyento naming manalo,” the Ateneo product explained.
“We had thirty assists tonight, and ‘yun, panalo. So kami, actually, conscious na kami about that stat kasi kung titignan mo, anim na panalo mo, matataas assist rates niyo eh, so wala ka nang hihingiin pa.”
Now, Ravena hopes that the Road Warriors can keep on moving the ball well in their next assignments.
“Hopefully we still continue to dish out the ball well. That’s one thing that we have to remain consistent at,” he said.
“Especially pagdating ng latter part, the defense will be tighter and tighter and tighter, mas maraming games na napapanood ‘yung mga ibang teams, mas nai-iscout ka na, so kailangan mas mapaikot mo pa ‘yung bola.”
