RYAN Araña seems to have become fed up with Mahindra’s misery that he decided to make a change in his look.
Known to wear pink shoes almost his entire PBA career, the veteran wingman sported a yellow pair of kicks in the Floodbuster’s 89-70 loss to Ginebra in their Philippine Cup matchup on Friday night.
Asked what initially prompted the change, Araña said he is trying the transition from just being a slasher to a shooter this time.
“For me, parang change image lang,” the 32-year-old cager said in a chat with SPIN.ph after the game. “Siguro yung kanina, gusto ko lang din maiba yung takbo ng play naman. Dati, nung last conference, puro atake; ngayon, gusto kong ibahin naman yung image na gusto ko maglaro sa labas.”
Although he made one of his two three-point attempts, Araña has plenty to work on before he can live up to his word as he shot just 1-of-7 from the field overall in 14 minutes.
But apart from his playing style, the 10-year veteran also hopes the change would also turn around the fortunes of the hard-luck Floodbuster.
“Pahiyang na lang din siguro kasi nagtatatalo yung team,” said Araña, who has become accustomed to winning after playing for perennial contenders Rain or Shine and San Miguel Beer in the past. “Pero parang wala pa rin, talo pa rin.”
Still, the La Salle product vowed to keep sporting the new look.
“Tutuloy-tuloy ko yan,” he said. “Dilaw muna ako kasi feeling ko, maayos naman yung laro ko kanina, hanggang bumitaw lang nung third quarter.”
“May mga parating ako na yellow shoes so abangan na lang nila yun,” he added after wearing a brand-new pair of Nike Hyperdunk 2013 on Friday night.
Araña recounted that he started wearing pink shoes in his second year in the league in honor of an aunt who is a breast cancer survivor and a member of a foundation where the pro cager donated half of his bonuses for three years.
“Tapos niregaluhan nila ako ng pink shoes and then marami akong nakukuhang feedbacks sa social media na ang ganda daw at bagay din naman daw so tinuloy-tuloy ko na,” Araña said.
“Pero ngayon, siguro ibahin ko na muna yung image natin,” he added with a smile.
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