By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Building up the squad to participate in the 2024-25 edition of AdmiralBet ABA League, Dubai welcomed Thirdy Ravena.
Ravena, 27, inked a one-year contract with an option for an additional season, the team announced on Tuesday. He will be the second Filipino to play in Europe, following Juan Gomez de Liano and his stint with Wolves during the 2022-23 editions of 7DAYS EuroCup and Lithuania’s Betsafe LKL.
After hiring Jurica Golemac as the first head coach in team history, Dubai signed Awudu Abass, Danilo Andjusic, Nemanja Dangubic, Ahmet Duverioglu, Nate Mason, Klemen Prepelic, Leon Radosevic, and Aleksa Uskokovic. Ravena is the ninth player to be placed on the roster.
After playing college basketball at Ateneo, he spent the first four years of his professional career with San-en NeoPhoenix and became the first Filipino player in Japan’s B.League. In his last campaign, he tallied 12.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per contest over 59 appearances.
At the international level, Ravena was capped by the Philippines in the Qualifiers of the 2019 and 2023 FIBA World Cup. He missed the cut for the final 12-player roster for the final stage on both occasions but played in the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup.
Next season, newly-formed Dubai will compete in the ABA, holding home games in Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena. Potentially expanding to continental action through Euroleague Basketball’s Turkish Airlines EuroLeague or BKT EuroCup is part of the plan for the next years.
Photo Credit: FIBA