MANILA, Philippines – Despite missing the action on court and the high-level competition, Thirdy Ravena says he’s making the most of his family bonding time with home workouts. 

“I think when it comes to these days [where it’s not] normal, what you see during these times is what’s important in life – and for me that’s my family and the quality time that we have,” said Ravena in an Instagram Live chat with Rappler on Thursday, April 23. 

“Just looking at the bright side, that we’re all together in the house. It’s been a long time since we bonded. It’s been years since we’ve stayed in the house all day.” 

 The Ravena siblings – Kiefer, Thirdy and Dani – were exposed to sports at a very young age and their parents Bong and Mozzy continue to be active in various roles in Philippine sports.

The reality of being in a family of sports personalities is that most of their time goes to attending their own practices, preventing them from seeing each other at home and even sharing meals together.  

“Okay din na nababawi yung (we’re making up for) lost time… because we have our own things to do during our time,” he said.

“We have our own teams. Laking bagay rin (it’s also important to us), looking at it in a positive light,” added Ravena, who led Gilas Pilipinas over Indonesia in the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers last February. (READ: Thirdy a revelation for Gilas Pilipinas, but Dickel far from surprised)

“We’d have days, maybe once a month we will have dinner together by coincidence. I don’t even remember the last time we all just stayed in the house. That’s how long ago it was. Now, we have the time and sulit siya (it’s worth it).” 

While the three-time UAAP champion usually does body weight workouts and practices a bit on their small home court, Ravena has also explored doing yoga this quarantine and discovered that it is helping him with his flexibility. 

“[Yoga] helped me a lot especially with basketball. You work up the muscles in terms of flexibility, core, my breathing,” shared the former Ateneo Blue Eagle. 

According to Ravena, he uses both the Nike Running Club (NRC) and Nike Training Club (NTC) applications, which gives users access to several different workouts. 

As he primes himself for a professional basketball career, the budding Gilas Pilipinas standout will continue to keep himself fit and ready for whatever comes in the future. (READ: Thirdy Ravena ‘most likely’ to play in Japan)

 “If I want to play internationally, I want to be in the best possible shape and be ready for whatever they throw at me. Just make sure I don’t lose my power, my speed, strength, make sure I maximize myself.” – Rappler.com