5th SEA Games gold most special for Kiefer Ravena

Philippines’ Kiefer Ravena and LA Tenorio celebrate after a play against Thailand during the men’s 5×5 Basketball final at the 30th South East Asian Games 2019. INQUIRER PHOTO/ Sherwin Vardeleon

MANILA, Philippines — While most of his teammates celebrated their first Southeast Asian Games gold medal Tuesday night, Kiefer Ravena earned his fifth.

And that latest one is also what Ravena considers to be the dearest among his growing collection.

“It’s a bit more special because first of all, the SEA Games was held here and second I think, what makes it more special is I wasn’t even part of the pool in the first place,” said Ravena, who replaced the injured Jayson Castro on the team.

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The chemistry of the team on and off the court also something that Ravena cherished.

“We had a total of probably 10 practices, but it felt like we’ve been playing together for quite a while. It says a lot about how coach Tim (Cone) really treats his players and his system. I learned a lot. All in all, this is probably the best for me,” he said.

“This is the most special team I’ve been with,” he added.

Ravena, who won his first SEA Games gold in 2011 in Jakarta, Indonesia, already holds the record for most gold medals won by a Filipino basketball player when he took home his fourth two years ago in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

And at just 26, Ravena isn’t going to slow down any time soon.

“We’ll see. I’m just 26 and hopefully, I can still compete in the SEA Games and hopefully, get one with my brother Thirdy,” he said.