Photo from Fiba.com
FOSHAN, China—Like he did before coming over here, Kiefer Ravena wants his Gilas Pilipinas to do the same.
“We just have to move on and forget about it (46-point loss to Italy),” the heady point guard said when asked about how the Nationals should take things moving forward in the Fiba World Cup. “We all experienced playing in the World Cup already, so there are no more rookies (in this team).”
“We all got our feet wet playing in the world stage already,” he said. “Just the experience of playing here, we can all learn from that.”
If there’s one person who has some sort of authority about moving on in life, it’s Ravena, whose 18-month suspension by the Fiba ended a few days before Gilas embarked on its improbable mission of making it past group play here.
Ravena played 19 minutes in a 108-62 debacle suffered at the hands of the Italians on Saturday, shooting five points marred by three turnovers as his first official game back could simply pass as a forgettable one if not for it being played in the sport’s grandest stage.
“We just have to learn from our mistakes, I guess,” he said.
The Filipinos are teetering on the brink of elimination after that horrific beating, and another setback will pull the curtains down on what started as a promising and highly-publicized campaign here.