MANILA, Philippines — Gilas Pilipinas is coming off its worst finish in the FIBA Asia Cup in recent history, missing the quarterfinals for the first time since 2007 after they unceremoniously fell to Japan, 81-102, in the playoff on Tuesday night.
And as the Filipino hoops community vented their ire on the slump of the national team, Gilas veteran Kiefer Ravena took some of the flak as the team's "leader" coming into the regional tournament.
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"I felt like I let the team down, not being the leader they expected. Maraming pagkukulang, a lot of shortcomings in being a leader but it comes with experience as well," said Ravena after the game.
Ravena, a five-time gold medalist with Gilas in the Southeast Asian Games, was among the few experienced players in the FIBA Asia Cup squad.
He had been pegged to play the "kuya" role to the likes of his real-life brother Thirdy and other youngsters like RJ Abarrientos, Rhenz Abando, Francis Lopez, Geo Chiu, Will Navarro, SJ Belangel, Kevin Quiambao and Carl Tamayo.
Despite the result, Ravena said that they are all taking the experience and will use it to improve themselves in the long run.
"This is all our first FIBA Asia Cup. I'm not here to make excuses, but I told them that this is for the long haul," said Ravena.
"Whether we play in the B. League, the PBA, or the KBL, this is something that we have to embrace and take into heart, take it personally that what happened here can make us better," he added.
Ravena, for his part, plays for the Shiga Lakes in the B. League in what would be his second season with the club.
The loss against Japan not only broke a streak of FIBA Asia Cup quarterfinals appearances, but also marked the first time the Akatsuki 5 beat Gilas in 12 years.