Asia… World…
Meet @ThirdyRavenaaa. 🖐😠#LabanPilipinas #SmartGilas #FIBAWC pic.twitter.com/gFRVOQlqgb
— One Sports (@OneSportsPHL) February 21, 2019
MANILA, Philippines—Thirdy Ravena just showed he’s ready for the big stage.
Despite being the youngest of the Gilas Pilipinas players, Ravena made most of his playing time in the crucial game against Qatar in the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers early Friday.
It’s no secret that Ravena, who played for 13 minutes in Gilas 84-46 win, is one of the most athletic players in the country and now the world knows, too.
The Philippines was holding an 82-39 lead with less than a minute remaining when Ravena found himself defensing a transition opportunity that Qatari wingman Nasser Khalifa Al-Rayes took.
READ: Gilas Pilipinas ends 2-game skid, keeps World Cup bid alive with big win over Qatar
Ravena then decided to obliterate Al-Rayes from the face of the earth with a huge contest at the rim which looked like a clean block—but the referees deemed it an unsportsmanlike foul blowing their whistles with 53 seconds remaining.
The controversial call saw Gilas head coach Yeng Guiao get his first technical, he got his second around 20 seconds later, after berating game officials on the foul.
