MANILA, Philippines -- Kiefer Ravena did not seem in any way distracted by the recent issues that had come up about him, as the former Ateneo de Manila University star instead focused on his new challenge: playing for Alab Pilipinas.

Ravena arrived in Manila Tuesday, and had little time to rest before plunging into a tough practice with Alab ahead of their ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) playoff game against the Singapore Slingers.

"I'm very excited for that," Ravena said of the upcoming game. "It's been a while since I played."

Ravena offered little comment about his involvement in the alleged photo scandal that became social media fodder last week.

"Nothing, really," he said. "I'm trying to focus on the task at hand, and that is to get the ABL championship back to the Philippines."

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Ravena pointed out that this is not the first time that he has been embroiled in off-court controversy.

"Siguro, nasanay ka na rin lang na palaging may ganoon," he said. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but it is what it is."

Basketball, as always, is a refuge for the athlete.

"Just focus on what's important, which is the team right now," he said.

"Tinutulungan lang ako ng mga kaibigan ko to fine-tune everything, and everything will be okay in the end," he added.

Ravena and the rest of Alab will face the Slingers in Singapore on April 2.

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