Kiefer Ravena’s playmaking ability key in NLEX’s rise

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—NLEX has been on the rise in the ongoing PBA Governors’ Cup thanks in large part to its returning guard Kiefer Ravena.

Ravena, the celebrated second-generation talent, has been crucial in the Road Warriors campaign ever since he returned from an 18-month suspension.

Known as a scorer throughout his young career, the 25-year-old guard is showing another facet of his game which is his playmaking ability.

Ravena said he’s making it a conscious effort to move the ball around and get his teammates involved.

“Hopefully, we get to raise it even more,” he said. “We feel that it’s a proven stat that whenever we move the ball around, we have a high chance of winning,”

NLEX, which is currently 6-1 in the Governors’ Cup, is actually the second-best team in terms of assists averaging 28.6 a night just next to just Barangay Ginebra’s 28.8.

And Kiefer? He accounts for a third of that, registering 9.2 assists per contest.

Though Ravena said it’s a luxury to have high-scoring import Manny Harris around.

“It makes a lot easier for us [to get the ball around because] he gets a lot of attention,” Ravena said.

“Hopefully we still continue to dish out the ball well—that’s one thing that we have to remain consistent especially in when the latter part of the tournament comes around,” he added.

“The defense will only become tighter and tighter and tighter,” said Ravena, noting teams get to scout more and more of NLEX’s games.