By Leobert Julian A. De la Peña
Kiefer Ravena is about to take on a bigger role in his Gilas Pilipinas stint.
The young NLEX guard was recently named as the Gilas Pilipinas team captain and will try to be the leader of the 24-man pool that is currently under preparation for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
With Gilas having a mix of veterans and young guns, Ravena as team captain seems almost a perfect choice. While being relatively young himself, Ravena is also a veteran of the Gilas system having played for the team for several years now.
Also, Ravena’s international experience had a large impact towards the national team’s decision of putting him in the crucial role.
“We wanted to give him the confidence to grow into being a world-class point guard. This is the initial step in that process,” said Mark Dickel, the Gilas new head coach.
Despite Ravena’s young age, his international exposure and his years of Gilas experience made him the obvious choice for the captainship.
Ravena has 5 Southeast Asian Games gold medals under his achievements and was part of the last three FIBA window matches including the World Cup.
“Kiefer is by nature a leader. He is vocal and because of the position he plays, it makes it an easy choice,” added Dickel.
