Ateneo struggles with injured star; Ravena vows to get better

Kiefer Ravena. Filoil Flying V Sports Facebook photo

MANILA, Philippines – With a hobbling Kiefer Ravena, Ateneo just didn’t have enough firepower against a deep National University side Sunday night.

Ravena tried to play through a sprained ankle but was clearly ineffective as the Blue Eagles struggled.

“We were not able to get our usual production. For example, Von Pessumal, Frank Golla, so yun yung mga kulang namin and at the same time, malaking kawalan talaga si Kiefer. In terms of poise sa loob and when it matters wala talagang nakaka-score sa amin,” Ateneo coach Bo Perasol admitted.

“And then also, late na din kami nagkaroon ng sense of urgency nung natambakan na kami. I know that these guys are going to get better. Nanibago, buti nga nagstep up si Elorde, Juami (Tiongson) and even si Ryan (Buenafe). Generally I think, kung titignan mo, masyadomg lopsided yung matchup ng NU against us with the personnel that we have kung ganoon lang ang ilalaro namin.”

Perasol had said Ravena would be sitting the game out but the shooting guard refused to let a bum ankle keep him from missing his first UAAP game.

“This is just the competitive nature of myself. Hindi ko lang siguro napigilan. The coaching staff told me not to play kanina but knowing myself, hindi ko lang talaga natiis,” said Ravena after an unproductive night with two points on one-of-six shooting from the field, two turnovers and two fouls in just eight minutes of play all in the first half.

“Sinasabi ko nga kay coach Charlie manager ko and sa parents ko talagang hindi ko talaga kayang tiisin. Kahit sila pinapapahinga nila ako. Kinapa ko yung katawan ko kung kaya ko. I felt good naman in the first half pero nakita niyo din na wala talaga akong explosiveness kanina and everything was lacking.”
“Kanina kasi gusto niyang maramdaman bilang number one player ko, I need to agree to that kasi nahanda niya rin sarili niya sa Wednesday para ndi na rin siya manibago sa Wednesday. Talagang hindi siya maka-explode talagang wala. Pero knowing him, gustong gusto niya pa din maglaro kahit alam niyang hindi niya kaya so talagang kailangan namin siya. Nahihirapan kami without him,” added Perasol, whose squad shot just 27.8 percent from the field including seven-of-33 from long range and if not for Nico Elorde and Juami Tiongson’s late barrage from deep, the Blue Eagles shooting could’ve been worse.

Perasol also said that he was clueless as to when, where and how the 19-year-old Ravena got injured.

“Hindi ko alam kung anong exactly kailan. Kasi break namin e, weekend siya and then sabi na lang nung PT namin coach na-sprain si Kief so hindi ko na tinanong. Tinignan ko na lang pagdating niya. In fact hindi ko tinanong sa kanya kung anong nangyari. Basta ang importante kailan siya ready, actually sabi niya nga ready siya ngayon pero talagang nahirapan siya,” said Perasol, who gamely spoke to a few reporters waiting outside the Mall of Asia Arena, dugout after Ateneo’s 54-64 loss.

The six-foot-one Ravena said he injured his ankle during practice, adding that “it was just a freak accident but everything was good.”

“I wanted to confuse everybody if I will play or not. Get them guessing but I was really going to play naman. I didn’t want to miss any UAAP game, coming out of the tunnel and seeing all the Ateneans cheering for us and that I couldn’t miss. So pinilit ko talaga sarili ko, I rested so much yesterday and prepared for today’s game,” Ravena said.

“The only thing lacking was my explosiveness, I couldn’t push-off with my right leg, that was my strong leg. Kaya kahit gusto ko magbaba mg bola hindi ko kaya, mape-pressure lang ako. Ita-trap lang ako, hndi ko na naman pinilit. The coaches told me na if kaya mo 70 percent lang, then 70 percent lang that will help the team na. Kasi anything more na ginagawa mo na hindi mo kaya will not be helpful for the team so yun lang ang ginawa ko,” he added.

With enough time to rest, Perasol said he was sure that Ravena would play on Wednesday against Far Eastern University.

“The question is what’s the potential ng ilalaro niya but I’m sure he is going to play.”

“I’ll try to get better. 100 percent by Wednesday,” vowed Ravena.

There was uncertainty on whether or not Ravena would suit up against NU. But one thing’s for sure Sunday night: “We cannot win so many games without him,” Perasol said.