MANILA, Philippines — The tag hovered over Thirdy Ravena in almost every UAAP game he played in. "Kiefer’s brother." “The younger Ravena.” “The athletic one.” Heck, it even went as unpleasant as the “lesser Ravena.”
In a span of a season, Ferdinand III — Thirdy — as much as he would not admit it, played like a man on a mission. Was it to shake off all those tags? Was it to carve a name for himself? Was it to prove that he was the best cager in the family?
On Sunday night, he scripted perhaps the best ending to all of that. Within a revenge tour that took a year in the making, the 20-year-old Ravena became an omnipresent cog in the Blue Eagle machine: he led, he scored, he kept the team together, he hauled rebounds, he played gritty defense and most importantly, he never took let his teammates take over if need be.
En route to a championship, he snared a Finals Most Valuable Player citation.
“Just a surreal feeling, seeing the community support us through the season, it’s just a great feeling,” Ravena said while almost letting out a sigh of relief on Sunday night. “I know I’m tired, but seeing them cheering us every single possession, every single minute of the game, it [didn’t] matter how tired I am.”
Before a crowd 22,012, the 6-foot-2 forward just how selfless he was. Despite leading Ateneo in scoring, his game spoke volumes the most when he whipped out a pass to Isaac Go.
IT'S GO TIME. #UAAPSeason80Finals pic.twitter.com/PkRF4uGau0
— ABS-CBN Sports (@abscbnsports) December 3,
2017The shot would eventually put the Green Archers scrambling for anything to hold on to save their season.
Finals MVP Thirdy Ravena on his crucial pass to Isaac Go. #UAAPSeason80Finals pic.twitter.com/VbpN885yUu
— Denison Rey Dalupang (@sonrd) December 3, 2017
Ravena, who finished the game with 17 points to go with eight rebounds and five dimes, got the best validation to his game. But even in triumph and recognition — and being asked if whether securing a Finals MVP finally gives him an edge over his older brother — he went on to credit his teammates.
“I'm just doing my job. I'm not doing anything special. We're doing the same job. I'm doing the same job as Vince (Tolentino), Matt (Nieto), (Chiz) Ikeh, and everyone in the team,” he told the press in the post-game chat.
“Even those players you don't really see on the court. They're with us in practice every single today. They've been with us in the journey, the student managers, even the ball boys,” he went on to add.
“Like, we really have ... We all exerted the same effort. I just want to congratulate my team because that award, it's not possible if it weren't for all of us working together,” Ravena noted.
The third-year cager normed 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per outing in the Season 80.
“W pushed him to the limit to really see his potential in dominating the game,” Kiefer said of Thirdy in a separate interview. “He played his heart out every single game, and there's no great feeling than seeing him grow and mature to be the Thirdy Ravena that he is right now."