KIEFER Ravena gets a chance of winning a fifth straight gold in the Southeast Asian Games after making the 12-man lineup of Gilas Pilipinas to the coming biennial meet.
Ravena was among the players named to the team by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) which announced the roster Friday night.
Along with him in the national squad are LA Tenorio, Stanley Pringle, Chris Ross, Roger Pogoy, Marcio Lassiter, Matthew Wright, Troy Rosario, Vic Manuel, Christian Standhardinger, Japeth Aguilar, and June Mar Fajardo.
Left out in the sidelines are injured big man Greg Slaughter, Scottie Thompson, and Art Dela Cruz.
The NLEX guard was a last-minute addition to the Gilas pool of coach Tim Cone following the injury sustained by veteran Jayson Castro.
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Ravena had been part of four men's basketball team that won the gold in the SEA Games from 2011 to 2017.
"It's a learning opportunity for me. And I'm very thankful for the management in considering me to be a part of the team," Ravena said when he was made part of the pool two weeks ago.
Gilas Pilipinas is bunched in Group A along with Singapore, Vietnam, and Myanmar.
The team takes Singapore for its first game on Dec. 4, followed by a break the day after.
It battles Vietnam next on Dec. 6 before capping the preliminaries on Dec. 7 against Myanmar.
Group B meanwhile, is composed of Indonesia, the silver medalist in the 2017 edition of the Games, Thailand, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
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Top two teams in each group will clash in the crossover semifinals on Dec 9, with the two surviving countries fighting in the gold medal match on Dec. 10. (RG)
