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Shiga Lakestars guard Kiefer Ravena said he was excited for the upcoming Japan B. League Asia Rising Star Game as it will feature all nine Filipino imports on January 14 at the Okinawa Arena.
In the Asia Rising Star Game, Ravena will be joined by his younger brother Thirdy of the San-En NeoPhoenix, Dwight Ramos of the Toyama Grouses, Kobe Paras of the Niigata Albirex BB, Ray Parks of the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, Javi Gomez de Liaño of the Ibaraki Robots, as well as Division 2 players Juan Gomez de Liaño of the Earthfriends Tokyo Z and Kemark Cariño of the Aomori Wat’s.
Also in the Asian All-Stars lineup are Indonesia’s Brandon Jawato of the Utsunomiya Brex, China’s Wang Weijia of the Akita Northern Happinets, Korea’s Yang Jae-min of the Shinshu Brave Warriors, China’s Liu Jin of the Nishinomiya Storks, and Taiwan’s Lin Chih Wei of the Rising Zephyr Fukuoka.
“Very much excited to play against the rising stars of the B. League, and of course with my Filipino brothers here and also from the different countries that are being represented,” said Ravena in a virtual press conference on Monday, December 6.
“It’s going to be a fun event,” he added.
Matt Aquino of Shinshu, though, will not team up with his fellow Filipinos as he suits up for the Rising Stars, which is also composed Kai Toews of Utsunomiya, Koh Flippin and Keita Immamura of Ryukyu, Yuto Nohmi of Niigata, Takumi Saito of Nagoya, Takuma Sato of the Chiba Jets, Taiki Osakabe of the Alvark Tokyo, Keisuke Masuda and Satoru Maeta of the Kawasaki Brave Thunders, Ryogo Sumino of the Seahorses Mikawa, Eliet Donley of the Osaka Evessa, and Ryo Terashima of the Hiroshima Dragonflies.
Aquino made the Rising Stars squad as he holds a Japanese passport.
The Asian All-Stars will be coached by Ryukyu Golden Kings’ Dai Oketani, while the Rising Stars will be mentored by Chiba’s Zoran Maritchi.
“We would like to give you a very good game, a very entertaining game,” said Ravena.
“Just to experience playing against the future of the B. League is going to be exciting and is going to be fun and I hope you guys enjoy it,” he added.
Aside from the Asia Rising Star Game, Kiefer and his brother Thirdy will also showcase their wares in the Skills Challenge, where they will compete against former league MVP Yuki Togashi of Chiba, Takumi Saito of Nagoya, Asahi Tajima of Ibaraki, Yuma Fuiji of Kawasaki, and Tatsuya Suzuki of the Kyoto Hannaryz.
On the one hand, the high-flying Paras will test his mettle in the Slam Dunk Contest against Koh Flippin and Dwayne Evans of Ryukyu, and Sebastian Saiz of Tokyo.
The sweet-shooting Javi Gomez de Liaño will take part in the Three-Point Contest together with Takatoshi Furukawa of Akita, Ryuichi Kishimoto of Ryukyu, Naoto Tsuji of Hiroshima, Kosuke Kanamaru of the Shimane Susanoo Magic, and Masaaki Morikawa of the Yokohama B-Corsairs.
The Under-18 All-Star Game and the main All-Star Game, meanwhile, are scheduled on January 15 at the same venue. – Rappler.com
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