Kiefer: PBA is no child’s play
Kiefer Ravena is beginning to get a dose of realization that the Philippine Basketball Association is no child's play after the NLEX Road Warriors suffered their fourth straight game after a 2-0 start.
The Road Warriors' woes continued Friday when they were beaten by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 97-86, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, prompting coach Yeng Guiao and the rest of the team to hold a lengthy postgame meeting.
When the NLEX players finally came out at halftime of the Phoenix-Barangay Ginebra San Miguel match, Ravena offered his take of the Road Warriors' free fall after victories over Kia and GlobalPort to begin the campaign.
“We just talked about finding a will to win, yun lang naman ang importante kasi,” Ravena said. “Minsan may mga gameplan ka na hindi gumagana pero as long as you trust that, you gotta trust the system and find a way to win.
“Ganun na yung games ngayon, iba na sa pro,” he added. “Yun din siguro yung adjustment na nararamdaman ko ngayon kasi hindi katulad sa college, may mga lamang na madaling mawala pero pagdating dito, aalagaan na yan kasi mga mature na (mga players).
“If you get down in college, down 10 points, you have a 6-0 run and you're back in the game. Here, mahirap. You're down 10, didiinan ka lang. Next thing you know, you're down 20, down 25. We can't always catch up in the last 12 minutes of the game. Lagi kaming humahabol, laging kapos naman.”
Though he has kept his consistent form with averages of 17.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 6.3 assists, Ravena has cooled off a bit after a season-high 31 points in a loss to Magnolia last Jan. 14, making just 41 percent of his shots despite 14.5 points against San Miguel and Rain or Shine.
LEE INJURES AGAIN
Magnolia Hotshots guard Paul Lee expressed optimistic yesterday that he’ll recover quick from a left sprained ankle he suffered in the team’s 91-81 win over TNT KaTropa.
The veteran guard injured his ankle at the 7:54 mark of the third period when he went to the basket for a layup but accidentally landed on the foot of TNT KaTropa’s Troy Rosario.
Lee said the injury is disappointing, but he’s confident he’ll recover in time for the knockout stage of the tournament.