Once touted as the future of Philippine basketball, Kiefer Ravena left his comfort zone to pursue a career in a foreign land.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), as of late 2023 there are nearly two million Filipino overseas foreign workers (OFWs) who remit an estimated US$36 billion into the country’s coffers.
The Filipino diaspora is scattered throughout the globe, performing a wide range of jobs and services wherever they are needed. Lately, though, there has been a demand for skilled Filipino basketball players in East Asia, particularly Japan and Korea.
The past four years have seen several such players flock to high-paying jobs overseas, into the waiting arms of professional teams in the Korean Basketball League and the Japanese B.League. While their tribe has dwindled somewhat this year, there are still a number of them plying their trade abroad.
Chief among them is Kiefer Isaac Ravena.
It was a little over three years ago when Kiefer, then with the PBA’s NLEX Road Warriors, created a stir when he requested for the termination of his PBA contract to sign with the Japanese club Shiga Lake Stars.
It was a bold and risky move, considering Kiefer had just signed an extension with NLEX and was bound by the PBA’s uniform players contract (UPC).
After contentious negotiations, the Road Warriors acceded to Kiefer’s request and allowed him to pursue his dream of playing abroad. He hasn’t looked back.
The upcoming 2024-25 Japan B.League season will be Kiefer’s fourth, and his first with his new team the Yokohama B-Corsairs, with whom he signed a two-year deal.
Much has changed in the B.League landscape since Kiefer first arrived. His brother Thirdy, who paved the way for the others by becoming the first Filipino to play professionally in Japan, will now be plying his trade in Dubai. From a peak run in 2021-22, the number of Filipinos ballers still in the B.League is now down to just five.
But Kiefer is still there, continuously expanding his comfort zone and relishing his life as an OFW. This gig has, without a doubt, been financially rewarding for him, and has helped check a box off of his list of life goals. But it doesn’t come without its drawbacks.
“Actually, mahirap siya,” he told The GAME during an exclusive interview. “It’s one of the prices that you pay for playing overseas. It comes with it. They say that we went there for greener pastures, better future, and yeah, it is true. Pero it’s not always rainbows and butterflies, there’s always a catch to it, and being away from family is one of the hardest, especially you miss birthdays, you miss Christmas, you miss New Year.”
The situation can get particularly brutal during winter, Kiefer says, with shorter daylight hours and the biting cold adding to that feeling of loneliness. He’s learned to adapt, and takes solace in the fact that Japan is more accessible than, say, America or the Middle East.
“It’s a matter of being adaptable with the situation and knowing why you’re still doing this,” he reasons out. “So it helps na we’re just four hours away, unlike some na talagang you have to spend a couple of days to travel, which makes it harder to even think about going to the place.
“Pero sa Japan naman, madali lang, accessible. Blessed kami sa opportunity, sa gano’ng klaseng setup. But still, it happens, especially during winter time when it gets cold, there’s no more sunlight after 4:00. So hindi mo na alam kung anong gagawin mo, ayaw mo nang kumain. So ‘yan ang nangyayari sa amin.”
A whole new world
For the most part, Japanese cities are highly urbanized. Some could even be considered cosmopolitan. But it is still a country with a strong culture and sense of identity, where English is not widely spoken, and street signs might as well be written in hieroglyphics if you’re not a local.
Kiefer Ravena knew all of this going in. He absolutely knew what he was getting into and early on braced himself for the inevitable culture shock. Still, when it happened, it was a struggle at first. Having a mindset of embracing what was uncomfortable rather than avoiding it helped him a great deal.
“Siguro parang being open, knowing na I have to adjust to this kasi ako yung pumunta dito. I wanted this, ‘di ba?” he explains. “So hindi ako naman yung talagang pipilitin ko din na kayo mag-adjust. Kung ayaw nyo, eh ‘di wag, ‘di ba? Hindi naman pwedeng gano’n.”
It was also in this scenario where his being a Filipino came shining through.
“Isa sa mga pinaka magagandang traits natin ng mga Pilipino, marunong tayo makisama kahit sa anong bagay,” he said. “Being a representative of the nation also, whether with basketball, parang kailangan ko din ipakita kung paano talaga tayo when it comes to dealing with other people.
“So adjusting to a very, very strong culture like Japan, it took a lot, pero at the same time, you have to be open to it. Kasi ito yung work mo, ito yung environment mo. You can’t fight it. You have to embrace it more than anything else.”
Although it goes largely unspoken, one big difference for players like Kiefer that goes with playing in Japan is the ability to simply blend in and be anonymous. He can do things there that he might not necessarily be able to do here without attracting a crowd, like ride the subway and eat wherever he wants.
“I mean, not that I don’t like (the fame), of course. You know, it’s a blessing na being here, being noticed, being recognized when you walk down the malls, the streets.
“Pero sometimes, you’d want to be in your own space, and things like that. Pero hindi naman din na na-violate siya dito when we’re here. But sometimes, pag nandito ka rin, there’s just so much things going on. And I think, after basketball kasi, parang I’m really laid back and chill lang talaga. I feel like I have a different persona when it comes to my outside life. So I want to be just as private as possible.”
Alone, but not lonely, in Japan
After three years, Kiefer Ravena has fully embraced the OFW life in Japan. He still finds time to pursue his other sporting passion, golf. Now that he’s an investor in a coffee shop in Quezon City, he has also taken a keen interest in the cafes in his neighborhood.
Mostly, though, he spends time by himself, watching movies or streaming his favorite shows.
“Yeah, watching movies, Netflix by myself. I don’t want to sound like a sad boy, pero ganun talaga. Pag nanonood mag-isa, ganun talaga,” he says with a wry smile.
Of course, Kiefer is hardly the only Filipino making a living in Japan. And whenever he encounters kababayans he makes sure to approach them, for it helps alleviate the loneliness. He expects these encounters to increase now that he will be based in Yokohama, which has a larger Filipino population than Shiga.
There are even times when he himself will initiate contact, much to the surprise of his fellow Pinoys.
“Sana marami pa ako ma-encounter na Pinoy din kasi nakakatawa din every time na may mga Pinoy talagang nilalapitan ko kasi it’s also refreshing for me to actually speak Filipino, speak Tagalog, na tuloy-tuloy yung kwentuhan nyo, na alam mo yun, nakaka-relate kayo sa isa’t isa, especially the OFWs.
“Isa din yun sa mga bagay na nakakatawid sa amin. When time comes na nalulungkot ka, parang feeling mo mag-isa ka lang, and then makaka-encounter ka ng mga Pinoy talaga na ma-uplift ka din, and same kayo ng boat na sinasakyan talaga.
“Actually, minsan nga pag pupunta ako sa Osaka, Kyoto, may nakikita ako na tingin ko Filipino, lalapitan ko talaga, papakinggan ko kung nagsasalita. Ako na mismo yung nag-a-approach sa kanila. And nagugulat na lang sila na, ‘Oh, si Kiefer pala, ganyan.’ Minsan, couple of times, randomly, kumakain na lang kami, pumunta kami ng coffee shop, or kakain kami sa restaurant.”
For Kiefer Ravena, everything now seems like a world away from the time when he was known as The Phenom and saddled with the label of being the next big thing in Philippine basketball.
And yet, perhaps where he is now poses an even bigger challenge than whatever he would have accomplished here, one that will ultimately help define his legacy. Sometimes the truer test of character is moving out of your comfort zone and facing uncertainty alone, and giving up the trappings of celebrity to conform and be just another face in the crowd.
“I mean, kasi part ng culture ng Japan, it’s blending in. I feel like that’s part of their culture na, follow a line, follow a line. Susunod ka lang dun kung anong ginagawa nila.”
In choosing to play in Japan, Kiefer Ravena has learned that an important lesson in life is knowing when to lead, and when to follow.
Banner Image by Mark Dookie Ducay.