Remorseful Kiefer out of PBA for 18 months

An apologetic Kiefer Ravena speaks to the media during a press conference. Ravena has been suspended by Fiba for 18 months after testing positive for prohibited substances he got from a pre-workout drink. Photo by Mark Giongco/INQUIRER.net

Barred from playing internationally for 18 months, Kiefer Ravena will embark on an awareness campaign on performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) so that other athletes don’t suffer the same fate as his.

The electrifying Gilas Pilipinas guard was suspended by the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) after inadvertently ingesting three substances from Dust, a pre-workout supplement available in supermarkets and can be purchased over the counter in pharmaceutical stores.

The Philippine Basketball Association will follow suit, with mother team NLEX set to sit out the 6-foot rookie for the duration of his Fiba suspension, which will run until Aug. 24 next year.

Ravena took the workout drink before the Gilas Pilipinas five played Japan on Feb. 25 at Mall of Asia Arena during the second window of the Fiba World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.

Gilas won, 89-84, with Ravena firing 13 points and issuing five assists.

“That was the first time I drank it,” said Ravena during a press conference Monday attended by the top brass of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas led by its chair, Manny V. Pangilinan. “I wasn’t aware that it contained prohibited substances.”

Pangilinan also owns three teams in the PBA, one of them the NLEX Road Warriors.

Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said they received the formal communication from Fiba on May 22 stating that Ravena was tested positive for Dimethylbutylamine, Methylexaneamine and Higenamine—ingredients in the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) list of prohibited substances.

Aside from missing national team duties starting with the Feb. 25 game against the Japanese, Panlilio said Ravena might also not see action for the Road Warriors for the duration of the suspension.

“With the process of seeking clarification, I’m hoping to lessen the suspension or even allow me to play in the PBA,” said Ravena. “I hope you will help me spread the right details and information to the people.”

“The rules are very clear that all leagues and activities are included [in the suspension], even in the [PBA] All-Star,” said Panlilio. “That’s why we had to pull out Kiefer [from the All-Star Game on Sunday].”

Meanwhile, PBA commissioner Willie Marcial told the Inquirer that Asia’s pioneering pro league is also set to tap the Wada to do drug testing in the league starting next season.

“This was discussed in the board [meeting] even before the Ravena case happened,” Marcial said over the phone.
“It’s part of the PBA also going with international standards.”

The PBA, according to Marcial, doesn’t do testing on PEDs but is very strict when it comes to social drugs like shabu, Ecstacy, and the like.

Bannered to spearhead the Visayas All-Stars against the Smart All-Stars in the PBA mid-season showcase in Iloilo City on Sunday, Ravena was asked to fly home to Manila as requested by the SBP.

“But we are now seeking arbitration in the Fiba,” said Panlilio. “In fact, we’ve already sent a letter to (Fiba’s) Geneva (headquarters). Our prayer, since this is Kiefer’s livelihood, is that he would be allowed to earn a living [by playing in the PBA].”

“I think he has suffered enough,” added Panlilio. “He has been honest and candid during the entire process. It was really an honest mistake.”

Also present during the conference at Launchpad in Mandaluyong City were PBA chair and Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas, NLEX president Rod Franco, SBP executive director Sonny Barrios and SBP lawyer Aga Francisco.