Marcial wishes Thirdy well in extended Japan stint amid ‘draft dodger’ issue
FILE — Thirdy Ravena for NeoPhoenix in Japanese B.League. SAN EN PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — PBA commissioner Willie Marcial confirmed that Thirdy Ravena had sent him a letter with regard to his new contract with the San-en NeoPhoenix in the Japan B.League.
Marcial, however, cleared that Ravena’s letter had nothing to do with the PBA’s “draft-dodger” rule where the league can ban a player who misses the draft for two years after his last playing year in college.
Ravena, who last played for the Ateneo Blue Eagles in 2019, is expected to play in the Japan league until the 2022-23 season at the very least after he just signed a multi-year deal to return with the NeoPhoenix.
“He wrote to me and he told me that he re-signed to play in the B.League so he will stay there for a few more years. He explained to me his situation there,” Marcial told INQUIRER.net in Filipino Wednesday.
“Congratulations to him and I wish him well,” added Marcial, who stressed he has no problems with Ravena playing in Japan.
The 24-year-old guard dealt with health issues in his first season in the B.League. He also missed San-En’s first 10 games of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Overall, Ravena played just 18 games for the NeoPhoenix.
But when healthy, Ravena has proven to be a solid piece for San-En, averaging 9.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists.
