THIRDY Ravena won't be really missing much after all as the B.League decided to cancel the 2021 All-Star Game in Mito on January 15 and 16.
League chairman Shinji Shimada made the announcement on Sunday as Japan deals with the growing cases of COVID-19 in the country.
Mito City in Ibaraki Prefecture has been considered as an "infection spread municipality," and with throngs of fans expected to troop to Adastria Mito Arena, the Japanese professional league decided to side with caution and cancel the two-day midseason special altogether.
"We had discussions with Ibaraki Prefecture and Mito City about the holding the event yesterday, but the stance of the league is to decide the holding policy according to the requests of the national and local governments, and our decision is the future league," said Shimada.
"Mito City officially issued a request for cancellation and it was decided to cancel immediately."
He continued: "After seeing the recent issuance of emergency declarations in the three prefectures of Tokyo and the spread of infection in Ibaraki Prefecture and Mito City, we of course considered whether to hold the event, but the decision to cancel the match will stabilize the future league matches."
Refunds will be made accordingly, as the league stated.
Ravena was supposed to participate in his first All-Star Game in Japan before a right index finger fracture last week ruled him out.
The Filipino import will miss three months of action, with him hopefully returning in April.
B.League, meanwhile, will stick with its schedule with the games resuming on January 23 in compliance with the safety precautions set by respective local governments.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
