Ravena vows to return for Ateneo next year

MANILA, Philippines – Reigining UAAP MVP Kiefer Ravena announced on Twitter he'll be back for next season to suit up for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in his final year of eligibility.

Will be back next year.

— Kiefer Ravena (@kieferravena) October 1, 2014

Ravena expressed disappointment over Ateneo’s 63-65 loss to NU in Wednesday’s do-or-die semis, ruing his failure to lift the Blue Eagles back to the finals.

"Sakit, being number one kami. Although we overachieved already by doing that pero hindi yun yung goal naming. Short kami sa goal," he said.

"Sama lang talaga sa loob as one of the leaders of the team. I wasn’t able to give it to Nico (Elorde) and New (Chris Newsome). That’s all I ever wanted to give them – makapag-finals," he added.

The Eagles, according to Ravena, will be joining the Unigames and PCCL in the upcoming months, believing the tournaments will be helpful for them in the long run.

"Those will be very good experiences for the guys who were not able to play much in the UAAP," said Ravena, who finished with 18 points against the Bulldogs.

"You can never teach experience. We know what to do we have to take it every day," he added.

The 6'0 guard also gave credit to NU's Alfred Aroga, who blocked his potential game-tying basket in the closing moments of the game.

"Isa siya sa mga import with best basketball IQ. Di lang siya strong or athletic. He is also smart. Yung basketball sense niya as an import iba compared sa ibang import na palakasan lang, pataasan ng talon," raved Ravena.

"He knows how to use his head playing. Ang layo ng mararting niya as long as he's there playing for his team so I give credit to Alfred. For a first year player he showed a lot of composure," he added.

The former UAAP Rookie of the Year also signified his intention to join Gilas Pilipinas’ practices in the future.

"I'd like to join Gilas' since the UAAP is already over and hopefully I can practice with them," he said.