Ateneo's Ravena struggles in UAAP opener

Highly-touted rookie Kiefer Ravena struggled in his first game in the UAAP seniors division as he failed to score in 14 minutes of action in Ateneo’s 55-51 victory over Adamson Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. Ravena, a former UAAP juniors Most Valuable Player, missed his only shot, had two rebounds and one assist. Was it first game jitters? Both Ateneo coach Norman Black and Adamson mentor Leo Austria disagree. Black noted that Adamson took its height advantage to the hilt in the shooting guard position where Ravena plays. "We used him at the two-spot (shooting guard) and every time we put him in that position, Janus Lozada posted up against him and they took the lead because of that. I don’t think Lozada scored but we have to help Kiefer defensively, and they were able to move the ball around," said Black. For his part, Austria said his team really made an effort to guard the new additions of Ateneo although they failed to silence Greg Slaughter as the six-foot-11 center scored 23 points. "Hype na hype sila Slaughter and Ravena but Ravena didn’t score. Maganda ‘yung dinepensa namin talaga kay Ravena, except ‘yung kay Slaughter na wala talaga kaming naging pantapat," said Austria. Black said that he expects Ravena to bounce back from his first game. "Everybody is not Adamson which has six-foot-two shooting guards. Hopefully, we will have better match-ups against him in the next games," said Black. — Reuben Terrado/RF/RSJ, GMA News