The Final Score: Kiefer Ravena and Mac Belo — A tale of two MVP contenders

 

I get it. Ateneo’s Kiefer Ravena leads the early race for Most Valuable Player in the UAAP. FEU’s Mac Belo is surprisingly in second. 

 

Ravena is in first. Belo is in second.

 

Belo. It’s not La Salle’s Jeron Teng. Or another Green Archer like Jason Perkins. It’s not UE’s Roi Sumang. It’s not FEU’s Mike Tolomia. It’s not a National University Bulldog. It’s Belo. And I get it. 

 

Ravena is in first place. Eh si Kiefer yan eh. 2014 is the year he aims to obliterate 2013 from our collective memory. Like 2013 will become the number 13 button inside the elevator, which will cease to exist. Malas daw yun eh. Click 2013. Drag to Trash Bin. Wait for the crumpled paper sound effect. Watch it disappear forever. 

 

Ravena, averaging 21 points, four rebounds, and five assists this season, not only has fire in UAAP Season 77. He has fayerrrr. Like in R.E.M.’s "The One I Love," you scream into the mic, “Fayerrrrrr!!!” You see it in his eyes. They’re like Bruce Lee’s eyes in "Enter The Dragon," when all of Lee’s muscles are flexed like they’re about to explode, when his hands and feet are about to strike, when all hell’s about to break loose. 

 

Nonetheless, when Ravena scores clutch baskets, like the way he made critical shots against FEU, everything seems to happen in super slow motion. Parang naka NBA Phantom Cam palagi. He holds the ball so long, it’s as if he’s waiting for his defender to get tired of waiting, to overthink the possibilities, to suffer from analysis paralysis. Then, Ravena’s hair turns to gold. The skies turn gray. He goes up for a not-so-open three-point shot. Super Saiyan! 

 

 

Belo, meanwhile, is in second place. I can’t help but smile. What a pleasant surprise. It’s so like him to sneak up from behind. He’s not a renowned one-on-one provocateur, even if he can be. He’s not even the first name that pops up when one says, “FEU.” When one says FEU in 2014, I believe some people still think Terrence, RR, then Mike, then Mac. It’s the perfect situation, really.

 

Belo, averaging 19 points, five rebounds, and two assists this season, is the forward who makes opposing forwards gasp for air. Defending him is less like wrestling and more like running a 10-kilometer run at full sprint. No stretching. No water breaks. No walk breaks. Since Belo is going non-stop, you’re going non-stop. Big men would rather wrestle. Sprinting end to end for big men is never fun.

 

If we associate Ravena with slow motion highlights, Belo is all about moments that happen in a flash. What the heck just happened? Ay, ano nangyari? Whoa, sino yung naka-score bigla? He snatches points the way he snatches rebounds the way he snatches big moments away from someone else’s grasp. Elaborate set-ups aren’t necessary. It’s just boom, boom, boom. And then, when the cameras catch him galloping down the court afterwards, everyone realizes, “Wow, wow, wow, si Belo pala yun!”  

 

I get it. Kiefer Ravena is the guy who can score 29 points even when all eyes are on him. It’s confidence not everyone has. It’s audacity not everyone can relate to. It’s circumstance only he can fully understand. 

 

I get it. Mac Belo is the guy who can score 22 points on nine out of 14 shots even when he’s not challenging everyone one-on-one the way a guy who can score 22 points on nine out of 14 shots could. 

 

Ravena is in first. Belo is in second. One is Super Saiyan. The other is super sneaky. I have a strong suspicion. They’re both right where they want to be. — JST, GMA News