BROTHERS Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena will finally become teammates after being picked to be part of the 12-man Gilas Pilipinas lineup for its debut in the Fiba Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers away to Indonesia.
“We are very blessed we got an opportunity to play together once again especially sa national team pa,” said Kiefer. “We are making the most out of this opportunity, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Hindi natin alam kung kailan siya mauulit.”
Kiefer and Thirdy were supposed to team up with Ateneo entering the 2015 season of the UAAP, but the team-up failed to push through after the younger Ravena was ruled ineligible due to academic problems.
“Kala namin maglalaro kami ng dalawang taon, naudlot lang. We have to wait for six years to happen again,” said Kiefer.
Kiefer admitted that as a point guard, he will be making adjustments when they play side by side as the brothers haven’t played together outside of pick-up games for quite some time.
“It’s been a while to be honest. We haven’t really played together except in pick-up games," he said. "It’s going to be a test. Hopefully, magawan ko ng paraan ‘yung paano ako mag-aadjust sa style of play. I just want him to play hard and play how he is during his college days.”
“Now being a professional player, kailangan lang siguro may konting adjustments for both parties. Definitely, we are not thinking about who will take the last shot or sino ‘yung ganito, sino ‘yung ganyan. The most important think is how we play inside the court when we are together,” said Kiefer.
More than anything else, Kiefer said he and Thirdy must play within the team concept when they are together on the floor.
“Playing together, we have to play as teammates more than anything else, just like the other 10 guys in the team na magpapakamatay sa laro na ‘yun,” said Kiefer.
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