For Ateneo star Kiefer Ravena, who helped the country win the SEA Games basketball gold in 2011, it was the first opportunity to team up with naturalized center Marcus Douthit.
“I’m still learning how to play with him,” said the Blue Eagles hotshot, who added that it was fun to once again play with a giant center. Ravena spent his first two years in the UAAP playing alongside 7-foot center Greg Slaughter, who was no longer eligible to play for the Blue Eagles this past UAAP season.
Douthit and Ravena lead the cast for coach Jong Uichico. Also on the team Ray Parks, Kevin Alas, Matt Rosser Ganuelas, Ronald Pascual, Jake Pascual, Garvo Lanete, Kevin Ferrer, Rey Mark Belo, Jericho Cruz, and Prince Caperal.
It was a good showing for the national team, considering they’ve only been practicing in earnest for less than a week.
For Ravena, it is another opportunity to play with a different set of teammates apart from his usual Ateneo comrades.
“It was nice to play with people you are used to playing against,” said Ravena, who along with Parks, Lanete, and Jake Pascual are holdovers from the Sinag Pilipinas squad that won the tournament two years ago in Indonesia. “It was a new experience for me.”
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