Kiefer Ravena. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Kiefer Ravena’s first semifinals stint didn’t end like it started as NLEX bowed out of the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup after 89-96 Game 6 defeat on Tuesday.
But rather than dwell on subpar showing in the crucial Game 6, the super rookie is sure to use the failure as a motivation in his young professional career.
“Bad game, but it keeps me hungrier. It’s something that is a deep cut,” he said after being held to just nine points on a 3-of-17 shooting from the field in the loss. “(Assistant) coach Sandy told me that this is something that I can’t just forget.”
Ravena gave credit to the Hotshots’ defense, admitting it really threw NLEX’s groove into disarray as the team shot just 41-percent in the game compared to Magnolia’s 45-percent clip.
“We had no rhythm. I thought I was having a good one – made my first shot – and you know after that, it was a struggle,” he said.
Not helping was the untimely ejection of JR Quiñahan, which put another dent to the already undermanned Road Warriors’ armor.
Still, there is no shame in leading NLEX to greater heights and Ravena took pride for the helping the Road Warriors get their first semifinals appearance in his first conference in the pro league.
“It’s the first time we made it to the semifinals as a franchise, and for us to prolong it to a Game 6 against a very, very historic franchise in Magnolia, it’s a success for us,” he said. “But from now on, coach said that anything less than the semifinals is a disappointment for us. That’s true for us players and that the feeling of losing in the semifinals sucks big time and winning is very much the opposite, so we would like to pick the latter more often.”
Ravena also challenged himself to pick up the pieces from this defeat, saying, “I’ll use this as fuel. After all, it is my conference of my rookie season. It’s done, but I’ll be ready for the next conference. I’ll be ready, for sure.”