The PBA has decided that Kiefer Ravena should honor his contract with NLEX.
This comes after the 27-year-old signed with the Shiga Lakestars of the Japan B.LEAGUE, which the club made public last Wednesday.
“The board’s decision follows specifically the philosophy of the importance of a contract,” said Chairman Ricky Vargas in an emergency presser Saturday.
“The board has decided that Kiefer has to honor his contract with NLEX and with the PBA. That’s where we are.”
This is the same stance the league has stressed since after the announcement of Shiga.
League commissioner Willie Marcial was quick to shut down the transaction between Ravena and Shiga as the league also has a contract with Ravena and NLEX through the Uniform Player’s Contract.
The amiable executive also bared that the league has yet to be contacted by neither the B.League nor Shiga.
Vargas said that the league will write to the B.LEAGUE to inform them of their decision, which he said is final.
“As far as I know, they have not sent us any formal request,” said Vargas.
According to the league’s chairman, the board went through all the possibilities in allowing Ravena to play in Japan — including a possibility of a buyout. However, the repercussions of it in the future was not worth it for now.
“We were a little bit more careful if we would allow a foreign team to buy out a contract of a player,” he bared.
Ravena though continues to honor his responsibilities with NLEX as he still trains with the team.
