THIRDY Ravena soared in his debut in Japan but the high-flying former Ateneo star wingman was promptly sent crashing back to earth.
Ravena scattered 13 points, to go with two rebounds and two assists, as San-en NeoPhoenix carved out an 83-82 squeaker over Shimane Susanoo Magic last Saturday.
Playing back-to-back matches on the road at the Yonago Industrial Gymnasium in Tottori, San-en NeoPhoenix absorbed a sorry 74-81 loss yesterday.
The 6-foot-2 Ravena scored 12 markers and pulled down eight rebounds in the defeat that dropped San-en NeoPhoenix to 2-10.
Ravena said he could only get better in his pro stint as the first Filipino and Asian who was signed as an import under the league’s Asian quotas initiative last June.
“Definitely, I’m very thankful, but I still have a lot to improve on, especially my conditioning. But I’m very happy that our team won,” Ravena said last Saturday.
“Honestly, I don’t know what to expect. There will be adjustments from our opponents to counter what we’re doing, but we’ll see,” he added.
Ravena, 23, said he is willing to do whatever it takes to help stoke San-en NeoPhoenix’s campaign.
“I’m here to do whatever it takes to help the team win,” he said. “If I have to drive, I have to rebound and if I have to shoot, I’ll do it. I’ll do my best.”
A Gilas Pilipinas national team training pool member, Ravena arrived in “The Land of the Rising Sun” last Oct. 15 but he had to undergo the mandatory 14-day quarantine.t
