Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
Ever the competitor, Kiefer Ravena just couldn’t let NLEX down in the endgame as he took matters to his own hands in the Road Warriors’ 105-99 win over Alaska in Game 1 of the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals on Monday.
“I really wanted to win,” Ravena said. “I was really in the zone during the game because we’re already here, we had to struggle the whole conference, and we couldn’t afford to relax because it’s just a best-of-3 series. We have to capitalize in games like these.”
Ravena weaved his magic in the endgame, first setting up Michael Miranda for the go-ahead bucket with 22.7 seconds remaining before following it up with the insurance layup that put the Road Warriors ahead, 100-96, in the final 18.8 ticks.
He finished the job off with a pair of foul shots in the last 7.8 seconds to secure the victory as he wound up with 25 points and eight assists.
<blockquote class=”twitter-video” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>.<a href=”https://twitter.com/ArangkadaNLEX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@ArangkadaNLEX</a>’s <a href=”https://twitter.com/kieferravena?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@kieferravena</a> on leading the team to its 1st franchise playoff win vs Alaska: Gusto ko lang ding manalo. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/PBA2018?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#PBA2018</a> <a href=”https://t.co/v7JOgfwZwp”>pic.twitter.com/v7JOgfwZwp</a></p>— Randolph B. Leongson (@RLeongsonINQ) <a href=”https://twitter.com/RLeongsonINQ/status/970625925028069377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>March 5, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Like any big time player, Ravena didn’t cower when the spotlight was at its brightest, favorably passing the test in his first playoff game as a pro with flying colors in also NLEX’s first franchise playoff victory.
Though he wouldn’t deny that he still had to adjust to the heightened level of competition in the PBA, the super rookie credited his easy transition to the Road Warriors’ stringent preparation for the series, as well as their collective desire to bounce back after getting humiliated by TNT, 75-101, last Wednesday.
“After our terrible TNT game, we just focused on our preparations. We just locked in, showed our mental toughness, and had the right kind of attitude that we hopefully, we’ll carry wherever we get in the playoffs,” he said.
Checking out one entry in NLEX’s bucket list for this season with the breakthrough playoff win, Ravena seeks to continue making history as the Road Warriors aim for their first ever franchise semifinals appearance on Wednesday.
“It’s nice to be part of history of the franchise, but we’re not satisfied,” he shared. “That wasn’t the goal that we set during the start of the season. It’s nice to have that feat and hopefully, we get another taste of history for the franchise by making it to the semis. We’re one foot in, hopefully we get the other foot in too and close the door.”