MANILA, Philippines – Near-triple-double debut. Two Player of the Week citations. Game winner. Playoff berth. A historic semifinals appearance. 

That’s all in a conference’s work for Kiefer Ravena. But the NLEX super rookie isn’t done.

Ravena saw his Road Warriors crash out in the semifinals of the Philippine Cup at the hands of the Magnolia Hotshots and he vows to come back hungrier.

He will be licking his wounds first. 

The 24-year-old submitted one of his worst performances in his fledgling PBA career as NLEX absorbed a conference-ending 89-96 defeat to Magnolia in Game 6 of their best-of-7 semis duel last March 20. 

Ravena, who averaged 15.5 points, 5.4 assists and 3.5 rebounds in the eliminations, fired 9 points on a dismal 3-of-17 shooting to go with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals against two turnovers in the loss. 

The Road Warriors kept it neck-and-neck throughout only to lose gas in the final two minutes, which saw Ravena and veteran Larry Fonacier commit back-to-back turnovers that resulted in easy Hotshots buckets down the stretch. 

“Bad game. Keeps me hungrier and it’s something that you know I can’t… It’s a deep cut,” said Ravena. 

“You can’t have bad games and with all the people watching and all the expectations. May mga talo talaga na maaalala’t maaalala mo talaga (There are losses that you will always remember).“

Despite the semifinals exit, Ravena and NLEX have already exceeded expectations. 

The Road Warriors were the only team outside the Top 4 to make it into the semifinals, defeating 3rd seed Alaska in the quarterfinals. Their semifinals appearance was also a first in franchise history. 

“[It is] how to take the good with the bad,” said Ravena. “It’s the first time we made it to the semifinals as a franchise and for us to prolong it to a Game 6 against a very, very historic franchise in Magnolia, it’s a success for us.”

Yet, Ravena isn’t planning to stick to that success. In the Commissioner’s Cup, where they will be reinforced by former NBA player Arnett Moultrie, he will be raising the bar for himself.

“You experienced how winning is in the playoffs, in the semifinals, so from now on, coach said that anything less than the semifinals is a disappointment for us.” 

The Commissioner’s Cup kicks off on April 22.

“I’ll be ready. I’ll be preparing for the next conference for sure,” said Ravena. – Rappler.com