NLEX Road Warriors guard Kiefer Ravena hopes for another Gilas Pilipinas call up in the 2023 FIBA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the Philippines with Japan and Indonesia.
The Ilonggo star said he is hoping for consideration as he wishes to represent the country once again in the international stage while in front of Filipino hoops fans.
“Sana pagpalain tayo na makalaro uli doon, na magkaroon tayo ng second chance sa FIBA World Cup,’ Ravena said over the Sports Lang podcast on Sunday.
“Sobrang exciting ‘yun kasi siyempre dito gaganapin and it is an opportunity to play in front of the Filipino crowd,” he added. “Noong Southeast Asian Games nga iba na ‘yung Filipino crowd, mas lalo pa d’yan dahil FIBA World Cup ‘yan.”
Ravena also said that he sees bright future for the national men’s basketball team with the possible inclusion of big men Kai Sotto, AJ Edu and Carl Tamayo, and the still availability of San Miguel Beermen center June Mar Fajardo by that time.
“Philippines has a bright future sa bigs dahil nandyan si Kai, si Edu at si Tamayo. Nandun sila to really carry the torch for the future big men. Baka andyan pa din si June Mar by that time,” Ravena said.
However, he said that the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas should have learned its lesson from its unsuccessful stint in the 2019 FIBA World Cup in China and should allot more time for preparation.
“Parang it’s never too early to start preparing. There is no such thing as early preparation. We know we have a lot of talents but we are not a fortunate country na kahit two weeks lang pagsamahin kaya mag-perform at a very high level.”
“Kaya naman natin ‘yun but we have to prepare hard. Nakita n’yo naman ‘yung nangyari noong last World Cup. Kulang talaga eh alam naman natin ano nangyaring result,” he added./PN
