JUSTIN Arana made heads turn in his first PBA game with Converge.
The Converge rookie big man had an all-around game spiked by six points, nine rebounds, and three blocks in the sorry 79-77 loss to Rain or Shine in the Season 47 opener on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
“Binigay ko lang ‘yung best ko para makatulong sa team. ‘Yun naman ang goal ko, [ang] Kumuha ng rebound at dumepensa,” said the NCAA Season 97 Defensive Player of the Year after his pro debut.
[See Belga trey denies Converge in its PBA debut]
The No. 4 pick in the PBA draft went head-to-head with Rain or Shine bruiser Beau Belga during the game. While he didn’t get a ‘Welcome to the PBA’ moment from Belga, Arana said he got a valuable words of advice from veteran.
“Hindi naman” said Arana, when asked if he got hurt by the ROS bruiser in his first pro league game. "Okay naman si Kuya Beau. Nag-aadvise advise rin naman siya kahit nasa loob kami ng court.”
Asked to expound, Arana said: “Laruin ko lang laro ko at wag ako mahihiya. Pakapalan talaga ng mukha [dito].”
Belga went on to spoil the first game of the Arellano standout in the PBA, when he buried a three-pointer to complete the Rain or Shine comeback against the new kids on the block.
Arana said the loss is proof that there’s still a lot of work to do for Converge.
“Siguro para sa akin, wala pa ‘yun. Kulang pa ‘yun. Marami pa kaming kailangang i-develop at siyempre kailangan naming manalo talaga,” said Arana.
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