Pine Ravena. Photo from Shiga Lakes
MANILA, Philippines—Kiefer Ravena felt disappointed and apologetic to fans after the Shiga Lakes were relegated to the B2 division of the Japan B.League on Sunday.
After the Lakes’ 85-69 loss to Matthew Wright’s Kyoto Hannaryz, the worst came for Shiga as they were relegated to the lower division of the professional league.
“[I’m] disappointed in our final game. We weren’t able to give the fans a booster (or) a victory,” Ravena told the post-game scrum.
“I guess that’s the feeling right now, more of for the fans. Aside from the relegation, we have people supporting us all throughout the year. They never let us down—home or away game—it’s a tough situation right now.”
In the last game of their forgettable season, Ravena recorded eight points, six assists and two rebounds while fellow import Daequan Jones led all Shiga scorers with 19.
The Lakes fell down to B2 with a 14-46 record and only a .233 win percentage.
The Gilas Pilipinas player still chose to look at the positives of the relegation, saying the team found their chemistry to go higher despite the lackluster season.
“The positive side is, when we were down from the first half to the half part of the season, the team became more of a family. We had nobody to rely on but ourselves, the coaching staff, teammates and everybody else in the organization. It’s one thing I can really take from this season amidst all the crazy things that happened,” told the point guard.
When asked about his assessment of the season, Ravena told reporters that the Lakes still “turned it around” after a slow start in the B1 division.
“One way or another, I feel like we turned it around. we were down and out and almost had no chance fighting for the last game of the season but we had a way to control the outcome of it, I know it’s not the ending we were all looking forward to,” said the Ateneo product.
Ravena averaged 10.5 markers, 4.0 dimes and 2.6 boards in the 2022-23 season for Shiga.
Whatever happens now, though, for the Lakes and Ravena is still up in the air but the Filipino import made sure to acknowledge the lessons he and his squad learned from a lowly stint.
“We’ll take everything from this year and apply it to all of our careers individually.”