Taiwan meet good tuneup for SEAG

TAIPEI – Kiefer Ravena, the Gilas team skipper here with a shot at a record fourth straight SEA Games gold medal, is confident their Jones Cup stint will help them a lot in their campaign in the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEAG set Aug. 19-30.

“It’s a big test for such a young team as ours to be playing in this type of competition. It’s a real good preparation for the SEAG as we played tough teams like Canada and Lithuania,” said Ravena, a SEAG campaigner from 2011 in Jakarta under coach Norman Black.

 “We just have to learn from each other, we have to help one another. By the time the Southeast Asian Games comes, it’s going to be easier for us in terms of chemistry and playing with each other,” added Ravena,

Ravena was also part of the triumphant Team Phl in Naypyidaw in 2013 under coach Jong Uichico and earned his third straight SEAG gold medal in 2015 in Singapore under coach Tab Baldwin.

Ravena shares with Rommel Adducul the record as the most bemedalled Filipino cager in the biennial meet.

Bobby Ray Parks was also part of the gold-medal winning Philippine teams in Jakarta and Naypyidaw before leaving the country and having his brief stint with the Texas Legends in the US D-League.

Ryan Betia is easily the least known individual in the Gilas contingent in this Jones Cup. Who is he?

He’s the newest addition in the Gilas coaching staff brought in by coach Josh Reyes when they handled the Gilas cadet team to the FIBA Asia Challenge in Iran last year.