With PBA avoiding potential precedent, Kiefer’s Japan plans will run through many obstacles
Among the things Kiefer Ravena could lose if he intends to play in Japan without the PBA’s permission is a chance to suit up for the national team. —SHERWIN VARDELEON/INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
Kiefer Ravena’s bid to join brother Thirdy in the Land of the Rising Sun is not without shadows of controversy.
With the former Ateneo hotshot under contract with NLEX until 2023, Ravena may have to wait two more years before setting foot in Japan’s B.League, where his brother is currently seeing action, a source told the Inquirer on Wednesday.
And if he’s planning any holdout, he faces a lot of problems: A lifetime ban from both the PBA and a lost opportunity to suit up for the national team.
These are the scenarios that could play out following Ravena’s decision to sign with the Shiga Lakestars despite being under contract with his PBA club.“We are very pleased to announce that we have signed a new player for the 2021-22 Season with Kiefer Ravena. Ravena will be registered as the Asian Player Quotas,” Shiga said in a statement on Wednesday.
But Shiga will have to clear several roadblocks before it can field Ravena in an actual match.
“All I can say is that we won’t allow that,” PBA commissioner Willie Marcial said, referencing Ravena’s live pact with NLEX.
Repercussions
Kiefer Ravena during NLEX practice. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
A couple of highly-placed sources of the Inquirer were more forthcoming with the potential repercussions of Ravena’s move, which many see as a way to get some court action while the PBA is on a pandemic-forced hiatus.
With Marcial firm on Ravena honoring his PBA contract, the NLEX guard won’t get the necessary clearances from the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) to suit up in Japan, according to one of the Inquirer sources.
“Players should know that the PBA has a hold on them and if they choose to play outside of the country, the leagues that they will play in would need a release from the PBA for Fiba (the world governing body) to allow them to play,” said the source. “They will surely not get a release from the PBA under these circumstances.”
Another source said if Ravena decides not to suit up for NLEX, he faces a lifetime ban from the PBA.
A source from within the Road Warriors’ camp said that Ravena has already sought the permission of NLEX, but even then, he will still need that clearance from the league, which is trying to avoid a precedent that will lead to players signing deals with other leagues while they have a live pact with their current teams.
The Inquirer requested for a return call from Ravena and didn’t get a reply.
Second case
This is the second such case to hit the PBA in the last three months, the first being the Ray Parks Jr. issue with TNT with the prized Filipino-American guard opting to hold out to try his luck overseas.
TNT, which is represented in the board by chair Ricky Vargas, owns the right of first refusal on Parks and immediately put its foot down and has effectively banned Parks from playing anywhere else—not even with another PBA team since Vargas said that he wouldn’t agree to any trade to teach the player a lesson.
Inquirer sources said the Japan offer is expected to trump Ravena’s current deal with NLEX—which is not chump change, by any means—and the signing has sent ripples across the PBA board.
“Especially with a live contract. Imagine, that [NLEX] team paid his salary even while he was suspended by the Fiba (for 18 months) for doping,” said a board member who refused to be identified.
“It will become a precedent,” said the first source. “And the PBA cannot allow that to happen. We breed them (star players), nurture them and this is how we get repaid?”
