UAAP’s 79th season saw Thirdy Ravena finally become his own man—far from the presence of older brother Kiefer and even farther from the shadow of father Bong.
Thirdy may have made a name for himself as one of Ateneo’s go-to-guy and stat sheet stuffer, but admittedly, his last name will always be a constant barometer.
“I don’t think I can escape that umbrella of comparisons, but I take it as a challenge,” said Thirdy on SportsIQ, Inquirer’s omni-platform sports talk show.
“Instead of pressuring myself that ‘oh I have to do what my brother or my dad did,’ I make it a point to have more rebounds or play better defense.”
The two Ravena brothers couldn’t have had different career paths in the UAAP.
Kiefer managed to carve his own path with Ateneo winning back-to-back MVP trophies in 2014 and 2015 but Thirdy had to trudge whatever road his older brother paved and that’s when the criticisms came.
Making matters worse for Thirdy was that Kiefer’s first MVP season was his rookie year.
The younger of the Ravena brothers admitted that he let outside words affect him when he was a newcomer at Ateneo.
“Growing up I was always being compared, but I’ve gone through that phase that I keep comparing myself to my brother or my dad,” said Thirdy. “Now, I just play my own game and I really try to make the most out of the potential God gave me and at the end of the day that’s my goal, which is I work every single day to become better.”
