AS he displayed his heft – and deft – by making the game-winning stab against Rain or Shine in a recent Commissioner’s Cup game, Justin Arana let out a shriek and flexed his arm muscles – the latest proof that he has been a pillar of strength for Converge right in his rookie year in the PBA.
Justin Arana: from showing frailty to becoming pillar of strength
Hard to believe the 6-foot-6 stalwart once showed frailty with what looked like a career-ending injury.
Unknown to many, the FiberXers rookie standout was once diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse, a heart disease that gave him a hard time breathing and forced him to stop playing college basketball for almost two years.
Before that, Arana had always been healthy and standing tall over his peers. Nurturing his hoop dreams since he was 9, the pride of Basud, Camarines Norte already stood 6’2” in first year high school. He grew two more inches when he made the Basud National High School varsity team in third year.
A year later, Arana stood out in a Palarong Pambansa game while representing his province and caught the attention of University of Santo Tomas, which became his first ticket to the Big City.
Arana played good enough to make it to the Growling Tigers’ UAAP team right away, but was stuck on the bench in his first two years.
He was poised for a breakout year as a junior, but that’s when the first symptoms of the heart disease surfaced. Five minutes into an offseason Republica Cup game in Bulacan against University of the Philippines, Arana collapsed and had to be rushed to the hospital.
“Parang sobrang sikip, nahirapan ako huminga,” Arana recalled in a chat after a Converge practice.
Arana was initially cleared to make his return in the UAAP, but he was limited to just five games after his heart ailment recurred.
Arana admitted being so terrified he doubted if he would ever return to playing.
“Oo naman, syempre. Once na heart, ‘di ba? Mahirap labanan,” Arana said. “Kung ilalaro ko, mahirap, delikado. Kaya ang tagal nun.”
After almost two years of recovering and seeing the coaching transition from Boy Sablan to his current FiberXers mentor in Aldin Ayo, Arana decided to take a fresh start by transferring to Arellano.
“Hindi talaga siguro para sa akin yung UST kasi yung binigyan na ako ni coach Boy ng playing time nun, kaso nagkasakit naman ako,” Arana said. “Nung dumating si coach Aldin sa UST, mababa na kumpiyansa ko nun tsaka hindi pa ako cleared nun eh.”
Arana used his entire residency year to continue his recovery, undergoing weekly 2D echo tests and drinking maintenance medicine – all expenses Arellano shouldered.
Then he finally received a clean bill of health in time for his NCAA eligibility to kick in.
“Hirap rin talaga bumalik. Pero ang kinaganda lang, bnigyan ako ng chance ng Arellano talaga,” Arana said. “Kahit anong mangyari, yung tiwala nila sa akin, buo pa rin. Kahit wala pa silang assurance sa akin, sila na yung lahat ng checkup ko.”
“Sobrang laking pasasalamat ko sa kanila,” he added. “Hanggang ngayon, lahat ng interview ko talaga, (binabanggit ko sila), kasi sila naman talaga nagbigay ng second chance eh. Kung wala sila, wala ako dito. Nung wala naman ako sa kanila, hindi naman ako kilala eh.”
Arana wasted no time repaying the Legarda-based school. Unleashed by coach Cholo Martin, Arana anchored the Chiefs on both ends, being named Season 95 Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Arana picked up from where he left off when the NCAA returned to holding a regular tournament as the COVID-19 pandemic normalized, winning another top Defensive Player award while being named to the Mythical team.
That final college season, though, was also not without another health scare. Early in the campaign, Arana went down and was stretchered out late in the team’s win over San Sebastian. A day later, he was diagnosed with a partial ACL tear. But after a second opinion, the finding was reduced to an ACL sprain, paving the way for his comeback just a week later.
“Sobrang disappointed ako sa sarili ko nun,” Arana admitted. “Kasi may papel na eh. Out of the season na ako tapos hindi na ako makakapaglaro. 'Yun 'yung nasa isip ko nun. Pero buti na lang, siguro may plan talaga si Lord. After a week, nakabalik.”
Arana has since made the jump to the PBA look easy, flaunting his strength, footwork, and poise to stand his ground even against taller imports in the midseason tournament.
“Basta binibigay ko lang best ko para sa team ko,” Arana said. “Kasi kaya din naman ako nila kinuha dito, may purpose naman. And siyempre, binabayaran kami dito, so kailangan namin maglaro ng maayos”.
“Ang lagi ko lang namang mindset sa game: gusto ko lang makatulong sa team, especially sa depensa. Yung points, madali na yan. Nandyan na sila Aljun (Melecio), sila kuya JT (Jeron Teng), sila kuya Mav (Ahanmisi). Kung makatanggap naman ako ng score, bonus na lang. Magaling din yung mga passer ko eh,” he added with a smile.
He is also grateful to have PBA legends as mentors. While recovering from his heart disease in his residency year at Arellano, Arana had 10-time All-Defensive Team member Jerry Codiñera, who wanted him to learn to play small forward. Now, he’s under the tutelage of two-time MVP Danny Ildefonso, who continues to underscore the importance of a well-rounded game.
“Sabi nga niya (Danny I), ‘okay ka sa loob, pero syempre, yung PBA, mabilis mag-scout dyan, so kailangan mo pa rin ng perimeter,” Arana said. “Pero paunti-unti lang muna.’ Perimeter, then kung maano namin yung outside, okay. One step at a time.”
Ildefonso also pushes Arana and the rest of the FiberXers even on lazy days.
“Syempre yung body mo, hindi mo naman masasabi na every day parang nasa mood. Minsan syempre nakakatamad, parang hindi maganda gising mo. Kahit ganun kami, nandyan pa rin siya, pipilitin niya talaga kami,” Arana said.
“Isa lang sinasabi niya sa amin: ‘Tara, mag-extra tayo para yung palad mo magka-milyones,’” he added with a chuckle.
Now starting to earn generational wealth while proving he’s one of the PBA’s future stars, the 23-year-old slotman is simply proud of how far he’s come.
“Sobrang pround din ako sa sarili ko, kasi nagsimula ako sa pinakababa talaga eh. Sobrang dami kong pagsubok na na-try,” he said.
“Sobrang hirap ng napagdaanan ko, pero yung tiyaga mo rin talaga. Depende pa rin sa’yo kung paano ka gagaling at paano mo ma-o-overcome yung mga challenge. And syempre, kinaganda lang nun, yung mga challenges na matatanggap mo, kailangan ma-motivate ka lagi nun, na hindi pa ‘to yung last, kailangan may igagaling ka pa, may ii-improve ka pa,” he ended.
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