Thirdy vs Kiefer highlight TapGo's opening B League coverage

 

TAP DMV is set to kick off its B League coverage this weekend, highlighted by the historic first meeting of Ravena siblings.

Thirdy's San-En NeoPhoenix visit Kiefer's Shiga Lakestars in their respective season openers is one of 51 games that TAP DMV will showcase on both their OTT platform TAP Go, as well as on its cable channels.

TAP already showed the league opener on Thursday between Ryukyu Golden Kings and Alvark Tokyo at the Okinawa Arena, and they have plans on showing as much of the games involving our eight Filipino players currently signed by the league.

Six Pinoys are with B1 teams, including historic barrier-breaker Thirdy, and Kiefer. Bobby Ray Parks, Jr., the only other player aside from Kiefer who has PBA experience, is with the Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, while former University of the Philippines standouts Kobe Paras and Javi Gomez de Liano are with Niigata Albirex BB and Ibaraki Robots, respectively. Completing the six is Dwight Ramos, the Gilas standout snapped up by the Toyama Grouses.

Two more Filipinos are in B2, with Javi's younger brother Juan in Earth Friends Tokyo Z and Kemark Carino departing from San Beda to join Aomori Wat's.

Kiefer shared his thoughts to philstar.com about his upcoming debut, "I am looking forward to playing against my brother and getting that first win for the Shiga Lakestars." He adds, "I am doing well here in Japan in the city of Otsu in the prefecture of Shiga. The transition is easy and it’s a cool, and fun place to be. The people are very polite people -- kahit sino ma meet mo."

When asked about what to expect from the Lakestars this coming season, the Phenom notes that they are a "young team full of promise," citing team captain Teppeo Kashiwagura, Shotaro Hayashi, and Reon Shibuta as the other guys to check out on the side.

Kiefer summed things up with, "I am excited to be a part of a professional team that represents the city of Shiga. Hopefully, we can get a win against my brother’s team."

Make sure to check out TAP Go's social media platforms for more details about what to watch in the coming B League season. The app is already available on both the Apple Store and Google Play, and do check with your cable provider regarding the TAP DMV channels.

San Beda claims inaugural i3i title

Davon Potts

San Beda-A became the first-ever Intercollegiate 3x3 Invitationals champions in front of a packed house on Sunday afternoon at SM Mall of Asia Music Hall, capping off a two-day tournament organized by Kiefer Ravena and Rack Sports Management.

San Beda-A, composed of the quartet of Davon Potts, Robert Bolick, Dan Sara, and Donald Tankoua, swept San Beda-C, 11-9 and 22-8, in its best-of-three finals matchup to claim the championship and the PhP 200,000 top prize. The runners-up, composed of Arnaud Noah, William Navarro, Joe Presbitero, and Jeramer Cabanag, received PhP 100,000.

San Beda-A scorched from the beyond the arc to sweep San Beda-C and win the first-ever Intercollegiate 3x3 Invitationals championship before a huge crowd Sunday at the Mall of Asia Music Hall.

Finishing in 3rd place is UE-A, composed of Arnold Pasaol, Clark Derige, Bonbon Batiller, and Paul Varilla. They dispatched FEU-A to claim the second runners-up title.

Also being awarded is the Mythical Team composed of Potts, Noah, Pasaol, and FEU-A's Joe Trinidad.


“Sobrang saya namin kasi champion kami. All our teams have been very competitive,” said Sara. “Malapit na rin NCAA so sobrang okay na experience sa amin ito. Dito start na talaga ng maturity namin.”

Day 2 of the tournament comprised of eight squads that survived the rigors of the action at the Xavier School Gym that hosted the event the day before. 32 teams from the UAAP and NCAA participated in the tournament, which is supported by Akari, Meralco, SM Mall of Asia, MyPhone, Toby’s, Titan, The Frazzled Cook, Gatorade, Milo, Ambucare and Teravibe, as well as endorsed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas.

According to Kiefer, "This is the first step in our goal of getting more Filipinos involved in 3x3." Rack Sports, he adds, is planning on replicating this tournament in the next few months elsewhere in the country.

Kiefer Ravena takes on new challenge as 3x3 Tournament Director for i3i

Kiefer Ravena is set to take on a new role even though his basketball career has not fully taken off yet into the professional level.

The two-time UAAP MVP is serving as the tournament director of the Intercollegiate 3x3 Invitationals (i3i), which is scheduled to take place this weekend (March 19-20) at the Xavier School and at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

Organized by Rack Sports and endorsed by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, i3i will have 32 teams battling it out through a single round-robin Group Stage at Xavier, with the best teams proceeding to the knockout competition at the Music Hall. It serves as the kickoff campaign for Rack Sports as it conducts a string 3x3 tourneys for the rest of the year.

Notable schools participating in this 3x3 competition, which is supported by Mighty Sports, Akari, SM Mall of Asia, MyPhone, Toby's, Titan, Frazzled Cook, Xavier School, Ambucare, and Teravibe, include reigning collegiate champions FEU, Letran, NU, San Beda, and Ateneo.

The inaugural i3i champions will receive PhP 200,000, with they will split equally with the school itself. Runners-up receive PhP 100,000 and PhP 50,000, respectively.

Ravena wants to use this tournament as a showcase, saying "Gusto lang natin ipakita yung talent ng mga Pinoy, lalo na sa 3x3." He adds, "We want to expose Filipinos to the 3x3 format. Sobrang bagay siya sa atin considering a lot of us play in half course everywhere. We’ll bring this to the countryside and hope to help develop a grassroots program for 3x3, too."

Ravena, along with Jeron Teng, Bright Akhuetie and Ola Adeogun, defeated hosts Team Qatar in an exhibition match at the 2015 FIBA 3x3 All-Stars last December.

Collegiate Press Corps reveals Mythical Five

A senior and a first-year foreigner lead the batch of players who were selected as the Collegiate Mythical Five for this season's Collegiate Basketball Awards.

Kiefer Ravena of Ateneo and Allwell Oraeme of Mapua highlight the list of honorees, after being named as the MVP by their respective leagues. Joining them are Mac Belo of Far Eastern University, Kevin Ferrer of the University of Santo Tomas, and Perpetual's Scottie Thompson.

Ravena claimed his second consecutive MVP with an eliminations average of 18.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.2 steals, helping Ateneo make it to the Final Four on his final season.

Oraeme's impact for the Cardinals was immediate, averaging 16.33 points and 20.28 rebounds, while adding 1.61 assists and 2.94 blocks in the eliminations. His Rookie-MVP performance helped power Mapua to their first Final Four appearance in five seasons.

Belo averaged 12.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists for the Tamaraws in the eliminations, then raised it in the postseason, averaging a double-double (16.8 points and 10.3 rebounds) to go along with 1.3 blocks in helping FEU claim the championship.

Ferrer blossomed into a collegiate superstar, finishing second in the MVP race with an average of 17.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and almost one steal in the eliminations. Basketball fans will surely remember his memorable Game 2 performance in the finals, torching the Tamaraws for 29 points.

Although the Altas missed out on the NCAA Final Four race, Thompson wowed the Pinoy basketball world by nearly averaging a triple-double, finishing up with 14.22 points, 11.11 rebounds, and 8.72 assists, while adding 1.33 steals.


It is from these five players that the SMART Player of the Year will be determined, which will be named tonight.

Kiefer Ravena and Alyssa Valdez set Nona fundraiser

The FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan is set to host Kiefer Ravena's third charity endeavor, entitled FASTBR3AK.

Targeting the victims of Nona, Kiefer and fellow Ateneo student-athlete Alyssa Valdez are setting up a fund-raising exhibition volleyball match slated to take place on December 23 at 2pm.

Joining the Phenoms in this endeavor are notable volleyball stars Gretchen Ho, Denden Lazaro, Michele Gumabao, and Charo Soriano, as well as collegiate basketball stars Kevin Ferrer and the Escoto brothers. Volleyball legend and broadcaster Mozzy Ravena will also be among the participants.

Kiefer and Alyssa will be leading their own respective teams in this exhibition matchup, which will include a raffle as well as a hulahoop contest between Valdez and a lucky ticket holder.

Kiefer says, "We want to help them in the spirit of Christmas," adding that "We hope they will not be too devastated by what happened and this is one way of making happy this Christmas."

The two-time MVP has already undertaken charitable endeavors before, targeting those who had been affected by Sendong and Yolanda.

Tickets to FASTBR3AK will be available starting December 21 at the Ally's All-Day Breakfast Place outlets in Malingap St, as well as Holy Spirit Drive in Quezon City. Tickets cost PhP 250 and PhP 500.

Team Kiefer: Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Ferrer, Gretchen Ho, Denden Lazaro, Bang Pineda, Jem Ferrer, Charo Soriano, Russel Escoto, and Mac Dionisio

Team Alyssa: Alyssa Valdez, Ella de Jesus, Michele Gumabao, Jen Reyes, Dani Ravena, Mozzy Ravena, Richard Escoto, IC Mendoza

Kiefer Ravena launches personal website

Kiefer Ravena wants to boost his already burgeoning fanbase.

The two-time UAAP MVP on Tuesday officially launched his own website in a simple launch at the recently-opened Ally's All Day Breakfast Place at The Rock in Quezon City.

The website (www.kieferravena.com), according the Ateneo star, allows him to directly communicate to his fans with his latest updates on and off the court.

According to Kiefer, not everyone has access to his different social media accounts, but most have access to the internet. He says, "I want to increase my fan base, to be able to reach people abroad."

He shared that he once had a website before, but it had been difficult to maintain given that he was just starting his UAAP career, but he adds, "Now, going to the pros, I have time to prepare something for the fans. I want to make everything easier for them."

This site will have blog posts from the Sinag standout himself, allowing him to address different topics, not just limited to basketball. Fans have the chance to have a live chat with him, too. He hopes to have that on a weekly basis.

Statements from Ravena directly on certain matters will also be posted there, as well as his scheduled on and off court activities.

Kiefer Ravena named as the UAAP Press Corps Player of the Week

When the chips are down, the Phenom picks it up.

And Kiefer Ravena showed that he earned that monicker, leading Ateneo to two wins last week to snag the Player of the Week nod from the UAAP Press Corps, beating out Bonbon Batiller and Raymar Jose for the weekly award.

The first win came against National University in dramatic fashion, after the second-generation star converted a game-tying triple with 5.3 seconds in regulation at 57-all, then helped force a second extension with a drive to tie the game at 62. He eventually finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and two assists in a hard-fought 74-70 double overtime win.

Ateneo head coach Bo Perasol, who finally managed to snatch his first win against NU in his Ateneo coaching career, admitted that they would not have gotten the victory over the defending champions if not for Kiefer's heroics.

The second win came against a game University of the East, as the Blue Eagles fended off a Warriors comeback in the final period for a 77-72 triumph. He would finish with fifteen points and just one rebound and one assist short of a triple-double.