A visibly upset Thirdy Ravena was fined and suspended for misconduct after his team suffered yet another loss when he failed to convert the winning free throws against Toyama Grousers in the ongoing Japan B. League where he is playing as an import.
EMOTIONS got the best of Filipino baller Thirdy Ravena both on and off the floor as he was slapped with a ¥100,000 (P43, 813) fine and a two-game suspension, after a ‘misconduct’ following their one-point loss to Toyama Grousers, 89-90, last Sunday.
After their defeat, a frustrated Ravena who was playing as an import for San En Neo-Phoenix in Japan’s B. League reportedly threw a fist at one of the sponsors sign boards inside the arena which was labelled as an act of misconduct.
Japan known for its refined manners has strict rules with regard to discipline from athletes in any sports.
To prove how serious they take these disciplinary actions, it was the general manager of the San En Neo-Phoenix who first gave a public apology on behalf of Ravena.
"As a GM, I would like to sincerely apologize not only to the fans and partners who love San-En Neo-Phoenix, but also to Toyama Grouses and all those who love B.LEAGUE," said San-En general manager Hideki Higashi.
"We will inform the staff and players that it is an important role as a professional not to make fans and partners sad. Lastly, I would like to ask Thirdy Ravena to look back on what a professional is, and to be a representative player of B.LEAGUE, and to instruct him to act with a firm mind on a regular basis," he added.
To this, Ravena immediately responded with his own apology to the staff, to the fans, and the officials for his behavior.
"To the NeoPhoenix boosters, sponsors, management, my teammates and coaches, especially the Toyama Grouses organization, sponsors, everyone involved, I deeply apologize that something like this happened," said Ravena.
"With the series of losses and personal bad games, I let my emotions get the best of me. And the chance of actually winning a game, but losing it because of me was just too much at that point. Again, I apologize to everyone."
The 6-foot-3 guard had his best game in that loss. He dropped a career-high of 26 points in the league off 11/14 from the field to go with nine rebounds, five, assists and three steals, but unfortunately will be suspended for two games on December 4 and 5.
Ravena has been averaging 12.9 points on 26-percent shooting from deep, to go with 4.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 27.1 minutes in his second year with the NeoPhoenix.
Tags: #basketball, #JapanB.League, #sports #ThirdyRavena