THRIVING as they may be in the Japan B.League, the Ravena brothers agreed playing with or against each other in the PBA remains a dream for both of them.
On when that may happen is anybody's guess.
"I see myself playing in the [PBA], but we don't know when," said Thirdy. "We're fulfilling our careers as basketball players and I feel like I have to play in the Philippines as well and see the amazing crowd in the pros. So yeah, for sure.
"But when, we don't know."
Kiefer agreed, noting, "For us right now, it's just really taking care of ourselves and staying healthy so we can make sure that that happens in the future."
Thirdy had a chance to apply for the PBA Rookie Draft two years back before agreeing to a deal with the San-En NeoPhoenix in 2020, making him the first Filipino to sign as an import under the Asian Players Quota of the Japanese professional league.
Kiefer, meanwhile, secured a release from NLEX Road Warriors last year to be able to sign with the Shiga Lakestars.
Since then, the Ravenas have become surefire draws in Japan as they have both established themselves as vital cogs for their respective teams.
In his second season with San-En, Thirdy has earned his way to the starting five and averaged 12.7 points on 41-percnt shooting from the field, on top of 4.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 steal in 26.8 minutes through 24 games.
On the other hand, Kiefer averaged 11.9 points on 31-percent shooting from deep, 5.5 dimes, 1.6 boards, and 1.5 steals in 24.9 minutes across 26 games.
Ravenas on a mission
Though the prospects of playing back at home have never left their minds, the Ravenas are just trying to live in the present and prove themselves worthy to be Asian imports in the Japan league game-by-game.
"It's a very long season out here and we will never know when that will happen especially with Thirdy being out here. We're hoping for the best, more than anything else," said Kiefer.
Thirdy added, "We're still trying to take it season-by-season. It's a long season out here in Japan and we're all relatively new to it, so we just got to adjust and make sure that we're 100 percent every single game so that we could show our game to everyone else every single game."
But you bet, the Ravenas are still dreaming of that day when they face each other or even team up in the PBA.
"I also feel like coming from the Philippines when I was a kid, I always dreamed about playing in the PBA as well as part of my career," said Thirdy.
"For us brothers, to be able to play in the league where where our dad also played, it's also part of our dreams as well, whether on the same team or playing against each other like what we're doing now here in Japan," said Kiefer.
"It's nice to tell that story in the future for our kids and to our families, that we all played together in one league with our dad [Bong] and that's gonna be an awesome sight to see and an awesome story to be told."
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