Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Thirdy Ravena had already built a reputation as one of the most athletic collegiate players in the country today.
He’s often regarded as the more athletic of the Ravena brothers, and that is no disservice to his brother Kiefer. And on Saturday, the senior Blue Eagle showed off his hops.
In the latter stages of Ateneo’s 102-83 win over University of Santo Tomas, Ravena produced arguably the season’s best dunk.
After Chibueze Ikeh grabbed the offensive rebound with 2:25 left in the fourth, he found a cutting Ravena, who jammed the ball with such ferocity it might have turned the Growling Tigers to purring kitties.
A dunk so vicious should be ingrained into anyone’s memory, but Ravena said it was all part of a normal basketball motion.
“It just happened,” said Ravena who finished with 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists.
“It was just fortunate that [Ikeh] got the offensive rebound, and I saw that no one was guarding the middle area of the zone. It was a good pass by Ikeh, that’s it.”
After throwing it down, Ravena celebrated and pointed three fingers to the general direction of the audience behind one of the rims at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
As it turned out, Ravena was gesturing to his father Bong, whom he has a running bet with this season.
“My dad and I have a bet,” said Ravena in Filipino. “That every time I get a dunk he’ll give me P3,000.”