Ricci Rivero shuts down transfer rumors

Embattled swingman Ricci Rivero reiterated that he’s still with La Salle, shutting down rumors of his possible transfer.

“As of now, I still attend classes everyday. We just asked to take a leave of absence first from our trainings,” Rivero said on Monday as he joined the Gilas Pilipinas evening sessions at Meralco Gym.

News surrounding Rivero’s status with the Green Archers surfaced over the weekend, with the school’s Office for Sports Development releasing a statement clarifying that the 20-year-old, together with brother Prince and teammate Brent Paraiso, won’t be attending the trainings due to their current commercial commitments.

.@RicciRivero06 clarifies that as of now, he’s still enrolled in La Salle and reiterated that he just asked to take a leave of absence due to the new school policy regarding player endorsements. pic.twitter.com/ZzQ3buG9zH

— Randolph B. Leongson (@RLeongsonINQ) February 5, 2018

La Salle has recently implemented a new policy prohibiting players from entering into sponsorship agreements with commercial entities as it seeks to have its players be in a better mindset under the guidance of new coach Louie Gonzalez.

Rivero said that he personally asked to take the leave as he wanted to honor his word with his bevy of endorsement deals.

“Even before that, I already signed the contracts. So it’s hard on my side to have said yes already and not honor that. I asked the coaches if we can take the leave and they said yes so that we can finish our commitments to the other brands,” he said.

However, Rivero said that they were caught by surprise with the new policy as they expected the implementation to be done at the start of UAAP Season 81.

“We’re surprised because we expected them to tell us to not have those endorsement deals during the season so that we’re more focused with the new coach and all,” he said. “We know it’s more ok if we’ll bond together and have the same mindset when the season is ongoing. But we were surprised when we’re about to start our training and that’s the first thing they said.”

Despite the issue surrounding his future in Taft, Rivero clarified he’s still with La Salle.

“There’s no truth to [transfer rumors]. As of now, I’m just waiting if there will be a meeting again with the (La Salle) managers,” he said.