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Gilas veterans hail 'fearless' Thirdy Ravena

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/news/11/10/ateneo-2017.jpg"/></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – After just a couple of practice with the national basketball team, Thirdy Ravena has earned the admiration of the Gilas Pilipinas veterans.The Ateneo de Manila University forward was <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/24/19/thirdy-ravena-joins-gilas-pilipinas-practice">included in the Gilas Pilipinas pool</a> for the final window of the FIBA World Cup Asian qualifiers, where the Philippines will face Qatar and Kazakhstan in a pair of away games – both of which are must-win affairs.There&#x27;s no reassurance that Ravena will make it to the final 12-man line-up for either game. Coach Yeng Guiao has informed him that he is a &quot;back-up&quot; in case Raymond Almazan or Troy Rosario cannot make it due to their injuries.But the young player has vowed to fight for his spot in the team, and his performances in practice have impressed the Gilas veterans.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/25/19/thirdy-vows-to-fight-for-gilas-slot-after-unexpected-call-up">FULL STORY: Thirdy vows to fight for Gilas slot after unexpected call-up</a></li></ul>&quot;I like that he&#x27;s going hard. He&#x27;s a young kid so he should have a lot of energy to go out there and compete with us,&quot; said San Miguel forward Marcio Lassiter, who was Ravena&#x27;s defensive assignment during Monday night&#x27;s scrimmages at the Meralco Gym.&quot;He&#x27;s holding his own for the second day. It&#x27;s kinda hard to gauge much but from what I see, he&#x27;s really shown that he&#x27;s fearless, he&#x27;s attacking,&quot; he added. &quot;He&#x27;s understanding the plays, he knows how to play, so that&#x27;s a good thing.&quot;Lassiter commended Ravena for not backing down against him during their time on the court. &quot;It seems like he&#x27;s up for a challenge, so that&#x27;s always good,&quot; he noted.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://sports.abs-cbn.com/pba/news/2019/01/27/pba-castro-forgotten-last-time-tnt-beat-smb-52690">READ: Castro has forgotten the last time TNT beat SMB</a></li></ul>Gilas skipper Gabe Norwood has known Ravena for a long time, and is impressed with how the Ateneo forward has developed and improved his game.&quot;I know how hard he works, so to be surprised, I&#x27;d say no, but it&#x27;s always pleasant to see. To see a young player come in, and really execute his game and get better every day,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#x27;s a testament to his work ethic, and the way he approaches the game,&quot; he added.Norwood also feels that Ravena&#x27;s youth is &quot;needed&quot; by the national team, even if it&#x27;s just in practice.&quot;It keeps us sharp,&quot; the Rain or Shine veteran said. Roger Pogoy saw Ravena back when he was just a rookie in the UAAP, and the TNT swingman marveled at the Ateneo star&#x27;s physical transformation.&quot;Unang-una nagulat ako sa katawan ni Thirdy kasi dati hindi naman ganyan eh. Sobrang ang laki na ng katawan,&quot; said Pogoy.He believes that as early as now, Ravena can already play in the PBA.&quot;Hinog na,&quot; Pogoy said. &quot;Pwede na sa PBA.&quot;&quot;Kaso may one year pa ata siya sa Ateneo, kaya siguro dinala siya dito sa Gilas pool, kasi alam naman nila coach na pwede na si Thirdy,&quot; he added.&quot;&#x27;Yung laro niya, parang pang-mama na din,&quot; he also said. &quot;Kaya kayang-kaya niya &#x27;yung college, kasi parang mas ahead siya doon sa mga kalaro nila.&quot;Both Norwood and Lassiter are confident that Ravena can only get better as he continues to practice with the pros in the Gilas program.&quot;Hopefully for him, he can learn from everybody, you know? All of us have a lot of talent, and if he can pick even one thing from everybody, and he&#x27;ll add that to his game, he&#x27;ll be that much better,&quot; said Lassiter.&quot;He&#x27;s in college, you know, so hopefully he can pick up the things we got so he can use that to his advantage,&quot; he also said.&quot;I hope we continue to help his growth process,&quot; said Norwood. &quot;Hopefully, he keeps pushing himself, and who knows? Stay ready, and anything can happen.&quot;For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

After just a couple of practice with the national basketball team, Thirdy Ravena has earned the admiration of the Gilas Pilipinas veterans.

After just a couple of practice with the national basketball team, Thirdy Ravena has earned the admiration of the Gilas Pilipinas veterans.

Gilas veterans hail 'fearless' Thirdy Ravena

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Gilas veterans hail 'fearless' Thirdy Ravena

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published January 29, 2019 03:36 PM PHT

Read More:

Thirdy Ravena

PBA

Gilas Pilipinas

Ateneo Blue Eagles

UAAP

FIBA World Cup

FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers

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