After two years, Thirdy Ravena gets to play in front of home crowd

Extra special will be Gilas Pilipinas’ game against India on Friday.

For the first time since Game Two of the UAAP Season 82 Men’s Basketball Finals — November 20, 2019 to be more specific — that he will be playing in front of his compatriots.

“I’m very, very excited. You know, it’s been a while since I last played for the Philippines and when the national team calls for your service, you’d always want to represent,” he told The Game.

Since that game, Ravena has played all over the region.

Ravena’s second appearance for the national team happened in Jakarta, Indonesia back in February of 2020. He then signed with B.League club team San-En. He also joined Gilas in Jordan for the King Abdullah Cup.

But unlike his first two stints with the national team, there’s a different man in charge.

It’s no longer the hard-tongued but amiable Yeng Guiao nor the tactical yet lovable Tab Baldwin. It’s now Chot Reyes who is steering the team.

Admittedly, learning a new system has been a challenge not just for him but also for the likes of William Navarro, Angelo Kouame, and Dwight Ramos.

Photo from FIBA.basketball

“For me, it’s also a challenge not just with the system but also the overall experience of being called to the national team given the short amount of preparation time that we have,” the second generation cager shared. “All of those things included as well like a new head coach and teammates. We basically had two weeks to prepare.

“It’s a challenge not just for me but also the entire team. I’ll just do whatever it takes to understand the system and also feel out the new teammates. Hopefully, we can pull off more wins.”

Come the next three days though, Ravena will set aside all his emotions.

He will be part of the team that takes on India on Friday and, hopefully, be part of the team against New Zealand on Sunday.

The goal is to win. Nothing else.

“The goal is to win and to put up a fight. Ang importante kung ano yung nasa loob namin at para makapaglaro para sa bayan. Time and time again, it’s always about puso,” he said.

“It might not be perfect or as well run as people expect but at the end of the day, bibigay pa rin namin lahat ng makakaya namin to gain an edge over our opponents.”

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All Group A games of the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers will stream live on GigaPlay. Download it now on Android or IOS.

The second game of each playdate is also livestreamed on SMART Sports.