Kiefer Ravena’s part in Ateneo-La Salle rivalry comes full circle

MANILA, Philippines – July 16, 2011. Do you remember that date? I do. I was one of 15,491 spectators that day at the Araneta Coliseum, my eyes closely fixated on the virtuoso performance being displayed by the young rookie wearing number 15 for the Ateneo Blue Eagles.

Before becoming a sports journalist, I was just an avid UAAP fan. So on that Saturday, like I usually did twice a year, I woke up early, gathered my green-and-white clothing (spoiler alert), and trooped to the Big Dome, eager to see my university’s basketball team win against its arch nemesis and their new kid out of high school who already had many calling him the “future of Philippine basketball.”

By the end of the second quarter, I sat on my seat at the upper box section, despondent and shaking my head, whispering to myself: “impossible.”

Yeah, Kiefer Ravena has done that to a lot of La Salle fans over the past 5 years.

On that Saturday, Ravena was already unstoppable in just his second ever college game. He hit jumpers no kid his age should have been able to convert. He drove to the rim, fearless and smart, drawing fouls and completing and-one plays.

He rebounded. He attacked on the fast break, often getting great results. 

Half the side of the Big Dome in blue was already celebrating, seeing a future with a superstar who would soon take the reins of King Eagle and lead Ateneo to supremacy. 

The other half in green? Well, they saw a glimpse of a future of misery.

After 20 minutes of play, Ravena already had 20 points.

Actually, wait, it was 22, he reminded me on Sunday, November 8 as he laughed and shook his head, as if reminiscing the moment that brash and talented young rook had his welcome to the UAAP moment: 24 points, 10 rebounds, 3 steals, and a win against their forever rivals. 

“Yeah, 2011,” he told Rappler before pausing and then continuing: 

“It went by so fast.”

“Looking back, it was probably one of the best games I’ve always been part of. Just the rich history of being in an Ateneo-La Salle game, whether you play, whether you just watch, it’s something that you get chills,” said Ravena.

“It’s something that I really, really treasure.”

Nowadays, Ravena has done a lot of reminiscing. The final date of his UAAP career is closing in, one game at a time, and what was possibly his final ever Ateneo-La Salle game on Sunday was the biggest indicator of that. 

In 2011, he entered the league with the promise of being even better than the two-time Finals MVP out of Ateneo high school, future phenom he was advertised. He quickly displayed his ability to be a dynamic scorer, winning the Rookie of the Year award, getting selected to the Mythical Five, and averaging 13 points a game in the process. 

In his second season, his numbers went up to 16 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists a game, finishing eighth MVP voting. He was injured for most of his third season, and then came back with a vengeance in his fourth year by winning the league MVP award and establishing himself as the clear-cut best player in the UAAP.

Ravena still holds that honor, but in his fifth and final season, he’s added even more to his repertoire. Only this time, it has nothing to do with scoring, rebounding, or setting up teammates – abilities he already mastered early into his career. It’s how much he’s grown outside the floor, becoming the leader of a young, rookie-laden Blue Eagles team that suddenly looks like a legitimate challenge to FEU and UST.

“It’s been a process,” said Ravena. “You just have to trust in the process, believe in the process that you can’t stagnate your game, especially in college.”

Truth be told, the Ateneo team captain’s task hasn’t been easy. Besides entering the season needing his rookie teammates to step up as soon as possible for him, Von Pessumal, and company to have another shot at UAAP glory, Ravena also had to keep this team away from the off-court distractions that had the potential to derail their campaign.

First, it was the stupid incident involving John Apacible. Second, it was what happened last week with Chibueze Ikeh. The outside noise that resulted threatened to derail the team. Such is the consequence of living in an age where social media is at its peak.

Yet against La Salle on Sunday, down by 10 after the first quarter, the Blue Eagles bent but did not break. By the third quarter, the contest took a 360-degree turn. Suddenly the Green Archers were the ones who looked lost, watching their season slowly falling from their grasps. The Blue Eagles cruised, flying to an easy win that kept alive their shot at twice-to-beat advantage. 

“Instead of taking those negatively, we stuck together as one family,” Ravena said about the distractions. “It was more than just a thing for us. It was something that, we had to show our teammates we’re together, no matter what happens. We showed that and it paid off.”

“He’s a leader. He tells us, he shows us what to do most of the time,” said rookie Adrian Wong, who’s become a revelation for the team. “He’s always a great example for us. At times, whenever we turn discombobulated, he’s there to compose us most of the time, and we all really look up to him.”

Wong and Aaron Black both finished with 10 points each in the win against La Salle – their length and athleticism on both ends of the floor making life hell for Jeron Teng, Thomas Torres, and the misfiring Archers. 

In many ways, what was likely Ravena’s final performance against La Salle was a testament to how much he’s grown in his 5 UAAP years. From being the explosive scorer 4 years ago, he was more a facilitator and distributor on Sunday, willing to let others lead the way as he played the role of game manager. 

Pessumal was hot, so he got the ball a lot – including the 3-pointer to erase La Salle’s lead for good in the third quarter and awakening the deafening sounds of “Get that ball!” and “One Big Fight!” After that, Wong and Black took over, unleashing destruction on the break and and attacking passing lanes on defense with ferocity.

If you watched hard enough, it felt as if the blue and white torch was already being passed down from one generation to the next.

“It’s really going to be huge for us. Scouting, fatigue, it will all come into play, and these guys, they’re still young so they don’t get tired so quickly,” said Ravena. “It’s an advantage for us. Coming into the long run, the final hundred meter dash as they say, this is it.”

Pessumal has been fantastic this season, averaging 13.2 points a game and playing like a top-10 UAAP player in the second round. But both he and Ravena will need the rookies to give even more to end their college careers hoisting that UAAP trophy up. 

The Tamaraws and Growling Tigers are good – very good. They are two teams with a blend of experience, toughness, chemistry, and skill. Does Ateneo have a shot against them? Of course. But their chances, especially if they don’t get one of the top two seeds, don’t look good. An early exit would not give Ravena and Pessumal the storybook ending they want for their collegiate careers.

But on Sunday, the duo ended their part in the green vs. blue rivalry in style. 

Unless the two teams advance to the UAAP Finals, Ravena will end his career against La Salle winning 7 out of 10 times. And trust me when I say this: no Blue Eagle ever has tormented the Green Archers the way he has throughout his career.

First, it was that explosion in the second game of his rookie season. In his sophomore year, who could ever forget how he destroyed DLSU in their Final Four match, as he scored 27 points – 14 in the final quarter thanks to a flurry of 3-pointers that Joshua Webb will never ever forget – to lead Ateneo to the Finals, where he hit the game-sealing jumper to take down UST in game two.

On July 20, 2014, Ravena established a new career-high 29 points against DLSU, thanks in large part to 4 3-pointers in the fourth period, each one coming at a critical time to take down the then defending champions who looked helpless. 

“Looking back at Ateneo-La Salle, or just looking back to reminiscing to this UAAP career of mine, it’s been such a blessing to be part of the Ateneo tradition,” said Ravena.

“I’m very blessed. There are a lot of people around me who made me who I am today, and it comes from my coach, to the assistant coaches, to the management, to the media, to the referees, my teammates.”

You’ll hear many players and UAAP spectators say that Ateneo-La Salle is just another game. Technically, they’re right. The result still counts as one win and one loss. There are 6 other teams in the UAAP, each of them deserving of their own recognition.

But, really, it’s not just another game. It’s Ateneo-La Salle, a tradition unlike any other in Philippine sports (except for maybe Letran-San Beda). Statistics and records usually take a backseat when the arena is covered in blue and green. The whole country is tuned in. Every mini feat and mistake is magnified. Social media is lit ablaze. There’s so much raw emotion and passion. Saying pride is on the line is an understatement.

And each time both teams go toe to toe, their fans are always waiting for that one or two guys to step up and play the role of hero. Ravena has done it countless of times, and just that accomplishment alone is enough to keep him in Ateneo sports lore forever.

After all, there’s a reason why they say “Matalo na sa lahat, wag lang sa La Salle,” for a reason (and the other way around for DLSU fans).

“There’s still a lot that can happen. We don’t know yet. NU and La Salle still have games, so I don’t want to say it’s the last until the season doesn’t end yet. I’m still not thinking if it’s bittersweet because there might still be one more in the future. We just need to be ready,” said Ravena on the prospect of facing Jeron Teng and DLSU again.

What did Teng tell him post-game on Sunday when the two had a brief conversation on the historic hardwood of The Big Dome?

“I was talking to Jeron, he said we’re going to see each other again, so we’ll be ready for that challenge,” said Ravena.

Right now, that looks unlikely. La Salle is in free fall, while Ateneo continues to rise. Maybe enough to a point where Ravena can finish his career with title number 3.

“It just makes me even more hungry of wanting to win even more,” he told Rappler about his remaining days as a college player. “I just really want to win. That’s it.”

Late on Sunday evening after the win, Ravena stepped out of the Araneta Coliseum to a legion of Blue Eagles fans, each one of them calling out to him for a picture or an autograph. As he scanned the environment, trying to appease each request, it was hard to imagine that he wasn’t thinking of the numbered days he will get to be in such a situation again. 

Later on, a girl in a DLSU shirt, reluctant at first, approached him for a picture. As he bent for the snap of an image, he jokingly told her: “Oh, bati na tayo, ha?” (We’re friends now, okay?)

Maybe.

But all the success he accomplished against the Green Archers for 5 years? That will go unforgotten. – Rappler.com