Thirdy Ravena, who now plays as an import in Japan, will reinforce the Gilas Pilipinas national men’s basketball when they head for Jordan this weekend.
Taking a break from his stint with San-en NeoPhoenix of the B.League of Japan, Ravena will be with the national squad when they take part in the 10th King Abdullah Cup.
The cagefest is slated to take place in Amman, Jordan from July 25 to August 3.
National head coach Tab Baldwin said the squad is now undergoing bubble training in Calamba, Laguna before their trip to the Middle East.
“Entering the bubble is forced on all of us since we are heading to Jordan on Saturday. It’s the long-term vision of the program that we have to look at here. We have to take advantage of every minute of games that we can get,” said Baldwin.
Gilas, which will be involved in a round-robin affair, will first meet Egypt on July 26 at 11 a.m. (Manila time), followed by Saudi Arabia on July 27, same time.
Next matches will be against Jordan-B on July 28 at 11 a.m., Tunisia on July 29, at 12 a.m., and Jordan-A on July 30 at 2 p.m.
“We’ll be going up against quality teams with different styles compared to the ones we faced in the Asia Cup Qualifiers,” added Baldwin.
The top four teams will advance to the knockout semis on July 31, with the top team meeting the fourth seed, while the second and third-ranked teams will face off.
In the pool are RJ Abarrientos, Justine Baltazar, SJ Belangel, Geo Chiu, Isaac Go, Jordan Heading, Ange Kouame, William Navarro, Mike Nieto, Carl Tamayo, and Dwight Ramos.
Also returning are Matt Nieto, Allyn Bulanadi, Tzaddy Rangel, Kemark Carino, and Rey Suerte.