FOR the first time, the two storied brothers, Kiefer and Thirdy Ravena, will play against each other in international play as the former’s Shiga Lakestars take on the latter’s San-En NeoPhoenix in the Japan B.League.
Filipino sports fans will get to watch not only the brothers who played briefly together with the Ateneo Blue Eagles, but also other young Filipino cage stars through Tap Digital Media Ventures that will air the B.League games over television and digital platforms exclusively in the Philippines for the 2021-2022 Season.
TapDMV will broadcast 51 games including the season opener on Thursday, Ryukyu Golden Kings against Alvark Tokyo at Okinawa Arena, and the games between teams where Filipino players play.
The games air mainly on “TAP Sports,” “TAP GO” and their social-media platforms.
“I am looking forward to playing against my brother and getting that first win for the Shiga Lakestars,” Kiefer Ravena said. “I am doing well here in Japan in the city of Otsu in the prefecture of Shiga.”
“The transition is easy and it’s a cool, and fun place to be,” he said. “The people are very polite people.”
As for his new team, Ravena described the Lakestars as “a young team full of promise.”
“You can watch out for Shotaro Hayashi, Reon Shibuta, Teppeo Kashiwagura, our team captain, and others,” he said.
“I am excited to be a part of a professional team that represents the city of Shiga. Hopefully, we can get a win against my brother’s team,” he added.
Thirdy Ravena also expressed excitement about the match.
“It is our first official match against each other. And we’re also representing the country,” he said.
The Shiga Lakestars and the San-En NeoPhoenix clash at 4:05 p.m.
Eight Filipino players are in the B.League in both B1 and B2. They are Thirdy Ravena (San-En Neophoenix, B1), Kiefer Ravena (Shiga Lakestars, B1), Bobby Ray Parks Jr. (Nagoya Diamond Dolphins, B1), Dwight Ramos (Toyama Grouses, B1), Kobe Paras (Niigata Albirex BB, B1), Javier Gomez De Liano (Ibaraki Robots, B1), Juan Gomez De Liano (Earth Friends Tokyo Z, B2) and Kemark Carino (Aomori Wat’s, B2).