By Jerome Lagunzad
Once the final buzzer sounded, an emotional Ateneo wingman Thirdy Ravena ran up to the patron seats to give his proud family – father Bong, mother Mozzy, and youngest sister Dani – a big hug while his teammates whooped it up at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum centercourt under a rain of white confetti last Sunday night.
His elder – and more popular – brother Kiefer, a two-time UAAP league MVP winner, was nowhere to be found since he watched the Blue Eagles’ 88-86 win over dethroned champion La Salle Green Archers at their home.
At least on this very special moment, all of the spotlight falls on Thirdy.
“I can’t even describe how I’m feeling right now,” he said, clearly at a loss for words after giving it his all en route to his first-ever championship in three years with the Blue Eagles.
Taking the unsolicited advice given by Kiefer, a two-time UAAP champion, to heart, the younger Ravena thrived on both ends, coming through with a game-high 17 points and setting up center Isaac Go for a title-clinching triple with 24.7 seconds left.
He also hauled down eight rebounds, with his lone offensive board turning out to be a highlight play after he jumped over a phalanx of rebounders before he kicked the leather out to a wide-open Matt Nieto for a booming trey early in the final period.
Without a doubt, Thirdy spread his wings this time around on the way to bagging the Finals MVP honors that eluded Kiefer, underscored by his all-around numbers of 16.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals during the epic finals series.
Thirdy, however, made another class act when he shared the Finals MVP plum to graduating Nigerian center Chibueze Ikeh, who also came up big with 12 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks in the decisive encounter.
“There are things na hindi nakikita ng mga tao talaga because it’s intangible. He did his best to limit (La Salle’s) Ben (Mbala) and execute the game plan. If it weren’t for Ikeh, his efforts, Isaac’s shot, it wouldn’t be possible for us to win,” said Ravena.
