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Thirdy Ravena welcomes responsibility of being a trailblazer for Pinoy athletes

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Thirdy Ravena in action for San-En NeoPhoenix against the Shiga Lakestars. (c) B.LEAGUE" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/sports/10/07/thirdy-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Thirdy Ravena in action for San-En NeoPhoenix against the Shiga Lakestars. (c) B.LEAGUE</figcaption></figure></div>He has only been a professional basketball player for over a year, but Thirdy Ravena is already aware of the legacy that he will leave behind when he hangs up his shoes.&quot;It&#x27;s a great feeling to be the first one here,&quot; a beaming Ravena said on Wednesday.&quot;Here&quot; is the B.League in Japan, where Ravena signed as an Asian import for the San-En NeoPhoenix last year. It was a gamble for Ravena, who would have almost certainly been a top draft pick in the PBA had he opted to go that route.It was also a gamble that didn&#x27;t pay off immediately. One of the most durable players in the UAAP during his days with Ateneo de Manila University, Ravena was limited to just 18 games in his first season after a bout with COVID-19 as well as injuries to his hand and knee.But the NeoPhoenix re-signed him &quot;for multiple years&quot; last May, and a grateful Ravena has since expressed his desire to lift the organization to new heights.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/10/21/thirdy-ravena-san-en-neophoenix-contract-extension">READ: Thirdy Ravena to stay with San-En</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/05/09/21/basketball-thirdy-ravena-san-en-neophoenix-bleague-japan">READ: No regrets for Thirdy despite playing at less than 100% in B.League</a></li></ul>&quot;I&#x27;m motivated by the trust that the organization has given me, with the NeoPhoenix,&quot; he said. &quot;So I&#x27;m really doing whatever it takes to show them how grateful I am, and at the same time, to represent the country in what I&#x27;m doing,&quot; he added.This season, however, Ravena will not be the lone player raising the Philippine flag in the B.League. He opened the door in 2020 and since then more Filipino stars have signed to play for Japanese clubs, including his own older brother Kiefer who is now an import for the Shiga Lakestars.Last weekend, Shiga and San-En faced off in a two-game series that the B.League billed as the &quot;Sibling Rivalry.&quot; Fittingly, the Ravenas split their first two games, with Kiefer and Shiga winning on Saturday and Thirdy and the NeoPhoenix getting back at them the next day.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/02/21/bleague-kiefer-wins-battle-of-ravenas-as-shiga-wins">READ: Kiefer wins battle of Ravenas, as Shiga wins</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/03/21/bleague-thirdy-san-en-get-back-at-kiefers-shiga">READ: Thirdy, San-En get back at Kiefer&#x27;s Shiga</a></li></ul>This coming Saturday and Sunday, Ravena will play against another Filipino -- his childhood buddy, Kobe Paras, who now suits up for Niigata Albirex. Over the course of the season, he will also play against Javi Gomez de Liano (Ibaraki Robots), Dwight Ramos (Toyoma Grouses) and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins).Two more Filipinos -- Kemark Carino (Aomori Wat&#x27;s) and Juan Gomez de Liano (Earthfriends Tokyo Z) -- are playing in Division 2.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Kobe Paras also signed as an Asian import in the B.League, now playing for Niigata Albirex." src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/sports/10/07/kobe-paras.jpg"/><figcaption>Kobe Paras also signed as an Asian import in the B.League, now playing for Niigata Albirex.</figcaption></figure></div>&quot;It&#x27;s an even greater feeling to see people coming in after you go, after you opened the door for them,&quot; said Ravena of the influx of Filipino players in the B.League. &quot;Kasi nga, it&#x27;s something that&#x27;s bigger than me, you know?&quot;&quot;I can do all sorts of stats, I can achieve great things, but what legacy would I leave behind? That would always be a question,&quot; he added. &quot;I felt like I was able to answer that pretty quick, after my first year.&quot;Ravena is delighted to see more Filipino players -- most of whom have been his teammates at some point -- join the B.League. He is also thrilled to see that it&#x27;s not just Filipino basketball players who have been hired as imports in Japanese leagues: Jaja Santiago (Saitama Ageo Medics) and Bryan Bagunas (Oita Miyoshi) have played in the V.League for several seasons now, and Marck Espejo is making FC Toko his next stop.Two Filipinas -- Sarina Bolden (Chifure AS Elfen Saitama) and Quinley Quezada (United Chiba) -- are in Japan&#x27;s pioneering WE League, the top flight of women&#x27;s football in the country.Yet Ravena also knows that as more and more Filipinos spread their wings abroad -- in Japan and beyond -- more attention will also turn to him as the player who first blazed the trail for local athletes.It&#x27;s a responsibility that Ravena doesn&#x27;t take lightly.&quot;Ang laking responsibility &#x27;yun, especially nga na ikaw &#x27;yung nauna. You always wanna show na talagang kayang-kaya, you wanna stay strong,&quot; said Ravena.&quot;Kung mag-break down ako dito sa Japan, it might not be a good look for the other guys who are looking up to us, the younger generation, who are possibly thinking of playing abroad,&quot; he noted.That task -- staying strong -- wasn&#x27;t always easy. Ravena called his first year in the B.League a &quot;roller-coaster.&quot; The COVID-19 pandemic didn&#x27;t make it easy for him to join San-En, and he didn&#x27;t have the benefit of a preseason before he started playing with the team. Just as he started getting into a groove, he tested positive for the coronavirus. And once he returned from quarantine, he suffered a hand injury that required surgery, taking him out of action for three months.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/27/20/basketball-thirdy-ravena-tests-positive-for-covid-19-says-team">READ: Thirdy Ravena tests positive for COVID-19, says team</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/07/21/look-thirdy-ravena-undergoes-successful-operation-for-hand-injury">READ: Thirdy Ravena undergoes successful operation for hand injury</a></li></ul>&quot;Marami kang pagdadaanan dito sa Japan, both on and off the court,&quot; he said. &quot;It&#x27;s gonna be a rollercoaster ride, but at the end of the day, you wanna stay strong para doon sa lahat ng mga humahanga, lahat ng mga nangangarap, na basketball players.&quot;&quot;Pati &#x27;yung mga gustong pumunta hindi lang sa Japan, but internationally, as well,&quot; he added.&quot;Being called that name (trailblazer) is a responsibility, and I feel like, ginagawa ko naman &#x27;yung makakaya ko to live up to that name and to just keep moving forward and keep blazing the trail for all of the Filipinos.&quot;The influx of Filipino athletes in Japan&#x27;s professional leagues is just the beginning. Ravena pointed out that Gilas Pilipinas Women star Jack Animam is blazing a trail of her own by playing in Serbia&#x27;s professional league for women. Kai Sotto, of course, is set to compete for the Adelaide 36ers in Australia&#x27;s National Basketball League.<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Kai Sotto will play in Australia" s="" NBL="" this="" season.="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/sports/07/21/20210721-kai-sotto.jpg"/><figcaption>Kai Sotto will play in Australia&#x27;s NBL this season. FIBA.basketball</figcaption></figure></div>There are also players of Filipino descent in the NBA in Jordan Clarkson and Jalen Green, and several Filipino players are competing in various football leagues all over the world.Ravena expects that Filipino cagers will also be playing in Korea soon, after the Korea Basketball League opened its doors to more Asian imports.&quot;I keep saying it,&quot; said Ravena. &quot;The Philippines is for the world.&quot;&quot;Hindi lang tayo meant sa loob ng Pilipinas, but as people, marami tayong kayang gawin. We&#x27;re actually good at a lot of things,&quot; he stressed.&quot;Just seeing all of these things come to life is just a beautiful feeling for me. And I&#x27;m sure, the Filipino community is very proud to support and watch all of these athletes playing abroad.&quot;<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1794186" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Thirdy Ravena speaks on being a trailblazer. Video courtesy of VivaMax. </div>

Thirdy Ravena is already aware of the legacy that he will leave behind when he hangs up his shoes.

Thirdy Ravena welcomes responsibility of being a trailblazer for Pinoy athletes

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Thirdy Ravena welcomes responsibility of being a trailblazer for Pinoy athletes

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 07, 2021 05:55 PM PHT

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Updated October 07, 2021 06:06 PM PHT

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Japan

Japan B.League

Thirdy Ravena

San-En NeoPhoenix

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