Gilas Pilipinas’ Kiefer Ravena. Photo by Fiba
MANILA, Philippines — Love him or hate him, Kiefer Ravena is always ready to serve the Gilas Pilipinas and he is determined to give the country a memorable hosting of the Fiba World Cup 2023 in August.
For the Gilas mainstay, playing for the national team is not a sacrifice as he relished the opportunity to carry the flag and learn with his teammates from the international competitions.
“We’re here doing this sacrifice, even though we’re our vacation, but the sacrifice for me is the easy part. I don’t even consider this a sacrifice, because you’re here playing basketball with your brothers, you learn for your individual career and for the team. You get to play the sport you love and you carry your country’s name,” said Ravena in Filipino in a video posted by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.
“We’re really blessed to be in this situation…As much as we can, we will try to represent the country if we’re needed and that’s not going to change,” he added.
The Japan B.League star of Shiga Lakes has been receiving criticisms on social media over his past stints with Gilas including a winless World Cup campaign in 2019, a disappointing silver medal finish in last year’s Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam, and an underwhelming performance in the Fiba Asia Cup 2022.
He respects the opinion of others but what’s important for him is his relationship with his Gilas teammates.
“People have differing opinions about who they think is deserving, but in terms of us players, there’s none. We’re like brothers here. We carry each other’s loads when we’re playing overseas. It’s almost impossible for us to have a beef with each other. There’s nothing like that,” said Ravena.
Gilas Pilipinas before taking on India in the Fiba World Cup Asian Qualifiers at Mall of Asia Arena. Photo by Fiba
The 29-year-old point guard, who first represented the men’s national team in 2016, is happy that he started his Gilas career early and he is ready to bring all the learnings from his past stint if he makes it to the final roster of the team for the World Cup in Manila starting on August 25.
“2016 was the first time I was included in the men’s pool and introduced to Fiba men’s competition. That’s where I saw the level I wanted to reach as a professional because these people were best of the best, cream of the crop when it comes to basketball,” Ravena said. “It taught me a lot of lessons on and off the court. That’s why I’m very fortunate I started young and I was molded by that kind of play.”
The former Ateneo star, who is currently in Lithuania with the national team, is leaving no stone unturned in their remaining time to prepare for the World Cup, where he hopes to write a good story to share in the future.
“I guess a lot of people will agree that this will never happen again in our lifetime, to be able to host the World Cup. Hopefully, it does, but I’m just cherishing the moment,” Ravena said. “This is a story that I’ll be glad to tell my kids, my grandkids in the future, I was able to represent the country in our home soil and I just want to be that story with a happy ending when I tell it every single time.”