Ryan Arana laughs off air ball from three as Mahindra escapes
BOCAUE – With his confidence running high, Ryan Arana was confident he could nail the dagger.
With the game on the line, the veteran guard fired a three-pointer midway in the overtime period of the closely contested game between Mahindra and Blackwater, saw his shot’s arc and turned around, believing it was already a sealed deal.
Except that his shot fell short. Way short.
It was a moment reminiscent of Nick Young’s infamous irrational confidence three for the Los Angeles Lakers, eliciting much laughs from the fans inside Philippine Arena.
“Akala ko pasok. Tiningnan ko na talaga sa screen, ang laki nung screen, sabay kapos. Napakamot ako ng ulo, he recounted with a laugh.
Fortunately, Arana had done enough to make up for the miscue, scrapping his way on the defensive end as Mahindra gutted out a 97-93 overtime win over Blackwater.
Though his shot will go down as one of this conference’s head-scratching plays, Arana expressed no regret for all the shots he had taken with the Floodbuster building enough confidence to eke out a victory.
“Binigyan kami ng green light ni coach na pag open, itira mo lang. Noong una, parang pinapagalitan nya kami every time titira kami, pero this game, parang iniiba namin yung set-up nung mga plays namin so everyone can shoot outside,” he said. “Hindi naman ako pinagalitan ni coach dahil sa kapos na tira na yun. Basta sabi nya, bawiin ko na lang sa depensa.”
And what better time for that elusive win to come than on Christmas day with Mahindra looking at this win as a tipping point for a better performance come 2017.
“Malaking bagay sa amin ito kasi ayaw din namin mag-end up na zero (wins). Yung mga next na kalaban namin malalakas na talaga, so kailangan namin mag-handa,” he said. “Yung boss namin si (team manager) Boss Eric (Pineda), gustong-gusto nya talaga manalo kasi medyo personal sa kanya itong Blackwater. Ayaw nya talagang matalo sa game na ito. Sabi nya pag natalo kami dito, magagalit daw sya sa amin, so ayaw namin mangyari yun.”
Arana may have ended the day as the butt of jokes, even trending on Twitter for his late game gaffe, but he and Mahindra still had the last laugh.
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