The Ravena brothers faced off again in Japan’s B.League, with Thirdy Ravena and his San-en Neophoenix getting the better of Kiefer Ravena and the Shiga Lakestars, 87-79 in Hikone, Japan on Saturday. 

Kiefer had the better stat line, scoring 11 points and four assists in 24 minutes off the bench, while the younger of the two Ravenas, Thirdy, contributed nine points, six rebounds in 25 minutes.

It is a better outcome for Thirdy, though, as his team improved to 17-19 after winning two straight games following a three-game losing streak. Kiefer is having a more challenging time with the Lakestars as the team has succumbed to an abysmal 4-32 win-loss record. 

Pinoy players in Japan

The brothers played against each other professionally for the first time back in the Japan B.League 2021-2022 season, when Kiefer arrived to join the Lakestars. It was an exciting time for the brothers to finally compete with each other.  

Kiefer at the time also credited Thirdy for opening the doors for other Filipino players to be recruited in the Japanese league. 

Players like Ray Parks, Kobe Paras, Kemark Carino, Dwight Ramos and the Gomez de Liano brothers are now playing for Japan teams.

Who’s Kiefer?

Kiefer Ravena was a star player in the UAAP when he played for the Ateneo de Manila University from 2011-2016. He earned the recognition of being only the third Atenean and the 10th player in the history of the league to receive back to back MVP awards.

He played for the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA from 2017-2021 before leaving for Japan.

Get to know Thirdy

Thirdy Ravena, on the other hand, played for the Ateneo De Manila in the UAAP from 2015-2019 before becoming the first Filipino player to be recruited to the Japan B.League.

Basketball crazy Filipino fans are proud of the Filipinos representing the country in Japan and are most enthusiastic about how the Ravena brothers are doing, hoping that their stay will become more successful in the years to come. 

📸: Japan B.League