Araña confident San Miguel will win series vs Rain or Shine
Ryan Araña. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ryan Arana had a lot of memorable games against San Miguel during his eight season with Rain Or Shine. So it may sound weird to hear him say that the Beermen would put away the Elasto Painters in the on-going Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series.
Nobody can blame him if that’s how thinks. Arana, a clever guard out of Dela Sale, joined the Beermen camp in the off-season through a three-team trade.
“Coach (Leo Austria) held a meeting with the players and we committed to getting the job done,” he said in an interview hours before Game 4 eventually won by San Miguel, 105-92, to equalize the series at two games apiece.
His prediction, though, isn’t meant to underestimate ROS’s ability to come out of top even with a depleted line-up.
In fact, even when the Elasto Painters had lost to NLEX at the close of the elimination round that required them to go through the quarterfinals, Arana had expected to cross path with his former team.
“Wala akong duda na makakatapat namin ang Rain or Shine sa semis. Feeling ko malakas sila. Saka galing ako dun, alam ko ang kalibre nila,” offered the 32-year old Arana, who admitted to be still working to regain his rhythm that made him an effective piece during his tenure with Rain or Shine he helped to five finals appearance including winning the 2012 Governors’ Cup.
An intense competitor, the 6-foot-1 Arana, is averaging 11 minutes in this semifinal but remains a non-factor, scoring just two points in four games.
“Right now hindi ko pa naibibigay yung ini-expect nila sa akin. In this series I’m just trying to help the team best way I can,” Arana said.
“Besides hindi naman basta-basta itong team namin. We are the defending champions and we’ve got a lot of go to guys who can step up when the need arises. That’s the reason I’m confident we’ll win this series.”
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
