Ravena's rare maturity and Jayson-like ability leads to another opportunity with Gilas
MANILA (Philippines) - Kiefer Ravena made his return to the Philippines national team in over a year at the recent FIBA Basketball World Cup this summer. Now that he’s riding on the momentum to possibly another Gilas stint at the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, could he be due for an appearance at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers as well?
The Philippines will be on the search for their 12th consecutive SEA Games gold medal on their home turf in Manila where the games will be played. Newly appointed head coach Tim Cone had been expecting to utilize the services of Jayson Castro, but an injury forced Cone to seek out for a replacement.
As far as “replacement” players go, you probably can’t do much better than 26-year-old Ravena.
“We are going to miss Jayson terribly but Kiefer has some of that Jayson ability in him,” Cone told Spin.PH following a team practice. “We lose the experience of Jayson but Kiefer has that rare maturity that kinda lands himself to be able to play with a bunch of vets and still be a leader and still do the things he needs to do. He is kinda rare in that way.”
Ravena’s most recent duties at the World Cup ended up with mixed reactions after averaging 4.8 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game on 19.4 percent shooting. He has bounced back for a solid 15.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per contest for his club in the Philippines Basketball Association (PBA) and hopes to continue building up on his return to basketball at the SEA Games.
That is if he makes the final roster, a decision which Cone is still leaving unresolved until later.
“Whether he makes it to the final 12, that’s another question. We still have to remove three players on the pool,” Cone added to Spin.PH.
If Ravena were to make the final cut, he will have a chance to secure a 5th straight SEA Games gold after already making history as the first player to win 4 straight back in 2017. The 1.85M (6’1”) guard made his SEA Games debut in 2011 at 18 years old and has not missed one since.
View this post on InstagramThrough all the battles. This gotta be a special one. May the FOURS be with you. 🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭🇵🇭 © @kukthew
Considering Ravena’s potential and age, there’s little doubt that he will be a large part of the Philippines team far down the road into the future. Not only will fans be anticipating to see him at the SEA Games, they will be hoping to see his name listed for the Philippines at the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers as well.
FIBA
