KIEFER Ravena owns five Southeast Asian Games gold medals, the most by any Filipino basketball player in the biennial meet. He has played in the multisport showcase from the time he was a college star at Ateneo in 2011 in Jakarta to being part of the all-PBA squad in the 2019 edition hosted by the Philippines.

But Kiefer does have his favorite. Make that two favorites.
For sentimental reasons, the 2017 gold medal stands out in his mind. So was the 2019 victory for obvious reasons as it was won before home fans.
Handled by Jong Uichico, the 2017 team was a mixture of amateurs and young PBA talent that bagged the gold after it defeated Indonesia, 94-55.

Ravena said the Kuala Lumpur team was memorable because it was comprised mostly of his batchmates during his youth team days when they led the Philippines to a fifth-place finish in the 2010 Fiba-Asia Championship in Yemen.
“Halos kami ‘yung magkaka-batch,” said Ravena during a recent SPIN Zoom In episode, when asked about his most memorable SEA Games gold medal. “Magkakasama uli kami nung batch ng Under-18.”
Among his SEA Games teammates that were part of the 2010 Fiba-Asia Under-18 team were Troy Rosario, Von Pessumal, Mike Tolomia, and Kevin Ferrer, while a few other Gilas teammates in Ray Parks and Baser Amer were contemporaries.
Aside from his batchmates, the 2017 team also had Christian Standhardinger, Almond Vosotros, Raymar Jose, Carl Bryan Cruz, and Kobe Paras, the youngest in the team at that time.
“Parang bigla kaming nagkaroon ng reunion and magkakasama uli kami,” he added.

Of course, the 2019 victory is also right up there for Ravena, mainly because the all-PBA team which he was a part of was a cinch for the gold, blowing away the opposition. It's smallest winning margin was a 27-point romp over Indonesia in the semifinals.
Gilas was coached by Tim Cone and Ravena played alongside 2017 teammates Rosario and Standhardinger as well as June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Stanley Pringle, Marcio Lassiter, LA Tenorio, Matthew Wright, Chris Ross, Greg Slaughter, and Vic Manuel.
“Pro lahat eh. Kumbaga sa darts, ididikit mo na lang ‘yung dart,” said Ravena laughing.
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