Ryukyu spoils San-En's Thirdy Ravena return from injury

MANILA, Philippines — The return of Thirdy Ravena from injury wasn't enough for San-En NeoPhoenix after a lopsided loss at the hands of Ryukyu, 71-110 at the Okinawa City Gymnasium on Wednesday.

Ravena's return to action for the first time in nearly three months couldn't tow San-En past the surging Ryuku team, thus absorbing their fourth straight game and slid to 11-38 for the season.

The former Ateneo star recovered from a fractured finger he had suffered earlier in the season and saw 30 minutes of action in his first game back.

The three-time UAAP Finals MVP tallied 11 points on a 5-for-14 shooting night to go along with two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Ravena and his teammates were overwhelmed by the Golden Kings as they were without Serbian reinforcement Stevan Jelovac in the game.

NeoPhoenix is all but eliminated from playoff contention with only 11 games to go in the season with only the top three teams from each district, along with two other teams with the best records gaining entry to the quarterfinals.

But San-En can still salvage their season with a respectable finish beginning Saturday when they host the Kawasaki Brave Thunders.

San-En will debut limited edition blue jerseys against Kawasaki that the team says is a nod to Ravena's stint with the Ateneo Blue Eagles and Gilas Pilipinas.