KIEFER Ravena admitted frustration is creeping in after a couple of deals that saw NLEX send a key player and a precious draft pick to sister team TNT, preventing the Road Warriors from becoming a championship-caliber team in the PBA.
The Road Warriors star tried to hold back in response to a question during his guesting on SPIN Zoom In on Thursday about his thoughts on NLEX giving up star center Poy Erram last February 2020 and the No. 4 pick in the 2020 PBA Draft, both in trades with TNT that had Blackwater acting as a conduit.
NLEX coach Yeng Guiao has openly expressed his disappointment over both moves, saying the decision to let go of Erram was “not at my level” and trading the fourth pick came as a surprise, even for him.
“I’m in no position to talk about it, but definitely as a player, it gets frustrating, especially I could imagine how coach Yeng is, ‘di ba?” Ravena said. “How frustrating it is for him na he’s been making a lot of moves to make us very strong and competitive, pero may mga nangyayaring ganun.”
“For us, it’s part of the business,” he added. “And as players, we just have to play. Of course, it’s a little bit more motivation for us na kaya naming mag-compete din with the arsenal that we have. Laro ka lang eh.”
“Yun ang trabaho namin eh – to really just play whoever yung kasama namin and try to prove to everybody else na kahit may mga natanggal sa amin, we can still be very competitive and still win a lot of games and hopefully playoff series in the future,” he continued.
But looking back, Ravena felt the Road Warriors – if they still had Erram – would’ve been a much better team than the one that fell short of the playoffs last season where they finished at ninth spot with a 5-6 record.
Finishing with a better standing would’ve given the Road Warriors a lower draft pick than their original No 4 selection, the one they sent to TNT and turned out to be Mikey Williams.
“Feeling ko, hindi na aabot sa amin yung number four pick kung nasa amin pa si Poy,” Ravena said. “Looking back, feeling ko naman we’ll be making it to the playoffs and then the drafting would be a little bit different.”
“But then again, I’ll ride with my crew anytime of the day sa team ko ngayon sa NLEX,” he was quick to add.
Asked if the recent transactions with TNT has made NLEX a “farm team” that’s only trying to make the MVP group’s flagship franchise better, Ravena answered in the negative.
“No naman. Ang goal pa rin namin is to win as many games as we want,” Ravena said. “Lalo na si coach Yeng, ibang klase ang competitiveness ni coach Yeng, so you want to be ready, we want to win as much as we can.”
There are still positives for NLEX that came out of both deals. Giving up Erram got the Road Warriors the No. 3 pick, which they used to grab NCAA MVP Calvin Oftana. Erram’s exit also paved the way for the emergence of Raul Soyud and added exposure for role-playing big men in Michael Miranda, Kris Porter, and Will McAloney.
“Lagi sinasabi ni coach Yeng yan: ‘tagal ko na hindi nag-cha-champion.’ It’s going to be a long, difficult road winning, but with the team that we have, hopefully everybody stays healthy, feeling ko kaya naman,” Ravena said.
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