Pro-bound Ravena upbeat on Gilas stint

MANILA, Philippines - Two-time UAAP MVP Kiefer Ravena relishes the opportunity to sweat it out with the big boys of Gilas Pilipinas as he enters the transition period from collegiate star to a budding pro.

“I’m so blessed to be able to do that – train with the best. It’s big for me because this is the highest level, cream of the crop of the PBA,” Ravena said at the launch of his website www.kieferravena.com Tuesday night at Ally’s All-Day Breakfast Place.

The former Ateneo skipper is one of three varsity stalwarts called by Gilas coach Tab Baldwin to join the practices of the pros-dominated pool for the Olympic qualifiers, along with University of Santo Tomas’ Kevin Ferrer and Far Eastern U’s Mac Belo.

“Practicing with Gilas allows me to have a little gauge of where I am right now compared to the pros so I’m really far from that. The game is really different already, I have a lot of things to adjust to, weaknesses to address. At this stage, it’s not about making an impact in the PBA, it’s more about lengthening your stay because of the quick turnover of talents,” he said.

“I’m at that stage again where I’m absorbing what I can absorb from the veterans so I can improve,” he added.

Ravena, who had previous golden stints in the Southeast Asian Games, admitted making the Gilas final lineup is a long shot.

“I’m not really expecting to be in the lineup I just want to enjoy and improve everytime,” he said, who has training activities in the US and locally between now and next year’s PBA rookie draft.

While not as busy with basketball yet, Ravena is spending much time with his new website to reach out to his supporters. Aside from regular live chats with fans, Ravena himself will write blogs with topics ranging from sports to politics, business and even his love life.

“It gives me another way to communicate with the fans,” said Ravena, who promised to be as hands-on as Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are in their respective websites.

“Before I had my website already but it was hard to maintain because I just started in the UAAP. Now, going to the pros, I have time to prepare something for the fans. I want to make everything easier for them,” said Ravena.