Thirdy Ravena for San-En NeoPhoenix. NEOPHOENIX PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—It was quite an easy decision for Thirdy Ravena to sign an extension with San-En NeoPhoenix in the Japanese B.League.
Ravena endured a tough first season in the B.League, both on and off the court, but always found his support from the NeoPhoenix no matter what happened.
“It was both a mutual decision, they also decided that they wanted to extend me,” said Ravena in an interview with SportsIQ. “It was a no brainer for me. They showed me love ever since I got here.”
“It was for the better. I know I missed a lot of games, I wasn’t able to help the team as much as I wanted.”
Ravena is the first Filipino player to play in the B.League and San-En made sure that he would be taken care of in Japan.
This kind of relationship was what endeared the NeoPhoenix to Ravena especially after he contracted COVID-19 in November of 2020 and got injured a couple of times this year.
Ravena suffered a finger injury in January that led him to miss a chunk of games then hurt his knee in April forcing him to the sidelines once more.
“They never changed, they didn’t get angry at me for being injured. They just continued to support me even more,” said Ravena who averaged 9.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 22.8 minutes across 18 games.
“It was a no-brainer for me to be in NeoPhoenix because you really want to show your true game and to be of service to the team,” said Ravena. “I want to help the team win more games and to show how much you appreciate the organization for everything they’ve done for you.”