Dwight Ramos and Thirdy Ravena after a Japan B.League game. –LEVANGA HOKKAIDO PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Other than playing overseas, former Ateneo star Thirdy Ravena also enjoys playing against his fellow Filipino imports in the Japan B.League.
Ravena, who plays for San-En Neophoenix, is sharing the floor with other homegrown talents Dwight Ramos, Bobby Ray Parks Jr., brother Kiefer Ravena, among others, on opposing teams.
“They’re the closest thing to home for me so it’s always a great opportunity, a great feeling and a great opportunity to play with them too,” he said.
Most recently, his team San-En defeated Levanga Hokkaido who was with fellow Ateneo talent Ramos, 76-57, on Saturday.
Ramos scattered a team-high 15 points, five steals and five rebounds.
Kiefer Ravena on the other hand, scored 10 points and eight assists in Shiga Lakes’ most recent victory while Bobby Ray Parks Jr helped Nagoya’s cause in their last outing with 11 points off the bench.
Some players are not fielded as much like the young guns like Justine Baltazar and Jay Washington but Thirdy believes the competition will always be alive for the Filipino imports.
“It’s more of a natural thing you know, just looking at the matchups and seeing who we can guard or who’s in our position or who we can play to be as efficient as possible,” he said.
“When you’re on the court, you know it doesn’t matter if he’s Filipino or not. It’s always about going head-to-head with whoever you’re going up against. It’s seeing if you have an advantage,” he added.