Kiefer Ravena is thrilled to rejoin Gilas Pilipinas for the sixth window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers that will be held at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
In a conversation with Daily Tribune, the seasoned playmaker stressed that joining Gilas anew will give him a chance to avenge their 85-81 loss to Lebanon in Beirut last August.
Gilas will be facing the Lebanese on 24 February before taking on the Jordanians on 27 February.
“There’s an extra motivation, not only for me but for all us,” Ravena said.
“Our goal is to win here at our home court. We just want to give our best.”
Winning over the Lebanese will be a tall order.
In their last meeting in the fourth window, in fact, the Filipinos deployed a powerhouse roster anchored on National Basketball Association star Jordan Clarkson and rising star Kai Sotto but the Lebanese were simply too good to overcome.
Wael Arakji dropped a booming three-pointer in the final 16.3 seconds to lift the Lebanese to a come-from-behind victory. He even rubbed salt to the wound by saying that “when you are in my town, you have to go by my rules.”
Ravena was not in uniform in the fifth window against Jordan and Saudi Arabia as he underwent operation to remove an impacted tooth.
His younger brother, Thirdy, also skipped the fifth window as he had contusion on his knee.
This time, the elder Ravena doesn’t want to miss out the chance when he received another call to rejoin the national squad.
“I’m thankful and really appreciate the opportunity being called up for the national team. We just want to help out in whatever possible way,” Ravena said.
“Every time I go home, I spend time with family, my friends, and really gets excited every time I’ll be here. It’s a big bonus for me to also play basketball for the national team.”
Ravena was the first to arrive from among the overseas-based Gilas players.
Thirdy, along with Ray Parks, Dwight Ramos and another returning player, Jordan Heading, arrived on Monday night and will start working out with the national team on Thursday.
The elder Ravena sees no problem catching up with Gilas as head coach Chot Reyes has been using the same system.
“Just a couple or a few more days of practices, would be enough,” Ravena added.
“We’ve been asking our teammates as well even when we were playing overseas. They’ve been helping out.”
