Ravena brothers going at it back to back.
The Ravena brothers, Kiefer and Thirdy, just went head-to-head—twice, in fact, over the weekend.
On Saturday, Kiefer recorded 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 4 assists to barely edge out Thirdy’s 9 markers, 6 boards, and 2 dimes. While the battle of stats went to Manong Kiefer by the slightest of margins, it was the younger Ravena who got what’s more important: the win, with the San-En NeoPhoenix beating the Shiga Lakes, 87-79.
Coming off a loss to his brother and the NeoPhoenix on Saturday, Kiefer and his Lakes came out to avenge the defeat in the immediate rematch a day later at the Proceed Arena. The elder Ravena played a good all-around game on both ends en route to a 15-point outing—and a personal milestone of reaching 1,000 points in his B.League career. Hitting big baskets, including a couple of crucial three-pointers, the former NLEX Road Warrior helped Shiga take the hard-fought 89-84 victory.
“Shiga Lakes boosters, thank you very much for always believing in us. For supporting us day in and day out… Hopefully, from this game on, we will just get better and better,” the elder Ravena told the home crowd.
The younger Ravena and his crew, though, didn’t go down without a fight, and were actually in a good position to make it two wins in a row over Shiga. In the fourth quarter, NeoPhoenix had their moments, including a highlight block courtesy of Thirdy. He also finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists.
The last two games should all be water under the bridge by now for the Ravenas, and trying to keep things moving forward is likely what the two Filipinos will be focusing on in the coming weeks.
For Shiga, the win on Sunday snapped its 18-game losing streak, and the team can potentially use it as a springboard to go on a winning run. On San-En’s side of things, finding out the formula that will allow them to string together a good number wins will be their primary objective. Consistency and endgame composure should be part of the equation if Thirdy and his NeoPhonenix teammates want to break away from the middle of the pack of the B.League standings.