Ravena gets shot at another gold for PH

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

Gunning for a record-setting fourth gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games, Kiefer Ravena feels blessed beyond belief as he was named to the Gilas Pilipinas roster on Tuesday.

“I’m very honored. I have the chance to get my fourth gold medal and be the only one to do it, so I guess hopefully, I get to repay the trust that coach Chot (Reyes) has given me, especially that I’m one of the newcomers in the team,” he said.

Ravena is no stranger to representing the country in the regional tilt, leading the country to the pole position in 2011, 2013, and 2015.

And for the 6-foot playmaker, he was overwhelmed with the trust the national team backers has been giving him, as he gets a crack on topping the three gold medal haul in basketball previously set by Rommel Adducul from 1997 to 2001.

“It’s been six years since I first played in the SEA Games. I was 17 years old then with coach Norman (Black). I’m very thankful for the opportunity that until now, I get a chance to represent a country in such a prestigious competition like the SEA Games,” he said.

“This is something we really look forward to every two years, and in the SEA Games, we aspire to prove that we’re the best in terms of basketball in Southeast Asia.”

Ravena said that adjusting to the system isn’t really much of a concern given his familiarity with the dribble-drive system, which is almost the same scheme used in the past iterations of the national team.

“It’s really not that hard for me since this is the system that we’ve been running in the past couple of SEA Games with coach Jong (Uichico) and coach Tab (Baldwin). So adjustment-wise, there’s nothing really big on it. I guess it’s more of the players, but again, I’m lucky that I’m familiar with these players who I’ve been teammates with and I’ve played against one way or another, so it’s easier for me,” he said.

Ravena also isn’t going to the regional tilt as the lone veteran, with Kevin Ferrer and Bobby Ray Parks seeking their third gold medal, as well as Troy Rosario, Baser Amer, and Almond Vosotros eyeing their second.

With this wealth of experience, the two-time UAAP MVP eyes to share the knowledge to SEA Games rookies, like Kobe Paras, as they seek to further extend the Philippines’ dominance in the said event.

“I guess it’s very important to share that knowledge, share that glory which you could only feel in the SEA Games. It’s not gonna be a walk in the park, unlike what other people say that it’s already a sure-ball, because it won’t. The other countries are improving, so it’s important that we improve also,” he said.

But Ravena knows this won’t be easy, with countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia hungry to upset the Philippines come August 19 to 30 in Kuala Lumpur.

“We’re in for a dogfight. I was watching the SEABA Championships here, and from what I’ve heard and what I saw, that was their preparation for the SEA Games. So some of the teams came to the SEABA Championships not really to win but to beat the Philippines in the SEA Games. So that’s bigger target on our backs. Each and everyone of us will be playing, and we have to be aware of that, and we have to see and really accept the fact that some of the teams are already improving. It won’t be as easy as before or the previous years,” he said.

“As I said before 2011, they have a program that’s really set, that one of these years, can beat the Philippines. But we won’t let that happen.”