AFTER facing his older brother the last time out, wingman Thirdy Ravena and San-En clash with his best friend Kobe Paras and Niigata Albirex BB in the Japan B.League this weekend at the Hamamatsu Arena.
Ravena is raring to go up against Paras, whom he described to be “playing tremendous here.”
“We have another game against Niigata and Kobe who has played tremendous here,” Ravena said. “He has been my best friend ever since growing up.”
The 6-foot-2 Ravena led the NeoPhoenix to a 101-96 victory in overtime over Shiga last Sunday for its first win of the season.
That hardly matters, according to Ravena.
“No matter how you look at it, we still have to think of the rest of the season. We are very happy that we both got our wins but looking ahead, we still have 58 more games,” Ravena said.
“What we think about after a game is the next one. It’s important to enjoy the win, but we have to prepare the best that we can for the next games.”
The 6-foot-6 Paras scattered 25 points on four three-pointers, on top of four assists and two steals in Niigata’s 81-85 loss to Kyoto Hannaryz in its opener last Saturday.
The Albirex got back at Kyoto, pulling off a 76-75 decision last Sunday. Paras could only muster 10 points but sank two key jumpers in the last three minutes to help his squad score its first win.
Aside from Kiefer Ravena and Paras, Thirdy Ravena is also excited to battle his fellow Filipino cagers in the Land of the Rising Sun.
“Definitely very excited as well. I’ve been teammates with most of them except Ray (Parks),” he said.
“Definitely excited for the other Filipinos playing in the B. League.”
