By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Japan’s B.League officially announced that King Eagle Thirdy Ravena the will be seeing action for San-en NeoPhoenix for its fifth season.
San-en NeoPhoenix signed the three-time champion with Ateneo de Manila University by way of the “Asian Player Quotas” instituted in November of last year
The “Asian Player Quotas” is a rule aimed to open doors for more non-Japanese Asian players to join the B.League in order to “enhance competition in daily games… and expand business in the Asian market.”
Ravena will be making history as the Japanese league’s first player to sign through the rule.
The 6-foot-2 swingman finally made up his mind after months of rumination whether to play in the PBA, Japan, or Australia.
However, Ravena’s silence was broken after Japanese Professional Basketball League team, San-en Neophoenix, announced that Ravena will be the first Filipino to play for their squad.
The projected number one pick, Ravena decided to skip the PBA draft and confirmed that he is planning to go abroad for intensive training just like his brother, Kiefer.
“B.League has engaged communication with foreign countries to promote internationalization since the first season in 2016. We are very pleased to welcome Ravena to B.League for the first year of Asian player quotas. We will continue to collaborate and cooperate with Asian partners to develop basketball in Asia,” San-en Neophoenix said in a statement.
Ravena is coming off a stellar college basketball career, racking up three-straight UAAP Finals MVP awards while steering the Ateneo Blue Eagles to a historic three-peat.
Also, Ravena was one of the revelations in the recent FIBA Asia Cup Qualifier who spearheaded the squad with 23 huge points including two blocks.
The Neophoenix team is looking to boost their squad’s roster by acquiring Ravena after a disappointing 5-36 win-loss record during the 2019-2020 season.
