Frustration has been mounting high over at Converge that Justin Arana, usually mild-mannered, had a rare display of emotion late in their eventual defeat to Phoenix in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup on Friday evening.
The FiberXers star got assessed with a technical foul at the 2:48-mark of the fourth quarter after complaining to the refs that there should have been a foul called when he attacked the Fuel Masters’ defense underneath in the play prior.
“Parang tatlo ‘yung sumabay sa akin tapos ramdam ko, parang nahampas ‘yung kamay ko. Sabi ko, ‘Ref, walang foul?’ Ayun, tinechnical niya ‘ko,” he recalled moments after their 113-107 loss at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Arana, though, was apologetic over what happened. He made amends with the referee after the game, saying that it was all part of his frustration as Converge was playing catch-up after ending the first half tied at 50.
“Nadala lang ng emosyon. Siyempre gusto ko rin manalo. Naghahabol kami kanina and ako, gusto ko talaga manalo,” the 25-year-old said.
“Lumapit ako. Siyempre tayo naman, as a professional basketball player, sa loob ng court lang naman ‘yun. Pero after naman ng game, nag-sorry naman ako kay ref. Sabi ko, ‘Ref sorry, akin.’ Sa laro lang naman,” he added.
Arana was calm and all while talking to reporters, but he did not hide how difficult it has been for him and the FiberXers this conference.
Their loss to the Fuel Masters was already their seventh in as many games bringing them in danger of missing the playoffs again.
Their loss, furthermore, put to naught the career-high performance of Arana, who finished with a game-best 32 points and 16 rebounds.
“Sobrang frustrating,” the 2023 Rookie of the Year admitted. “Lahat naman kami gusto na manalo. Kaso, hindi para sa amin ‘tong conference na ‘to. Marami pa talaga kaming kailangang i-develop at trabahuhin as a team.
“‘Yung chemistry, kung paano mag-jel as a team. ‘Yun ‘yung pinaka-big problem namin ngayon. Fini-figure out pa namin kung paano namin maaayos ‘yun.”
As tough as this season in general — Converge went 1-10 in the Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup — has been for the crew, though, Arana continues to believe that this will be beneficial to the team’s growth moving forward.
“Sa akin talaga, every game frustrated talaga ako, kada talo namin. Pero siyempre, hindi naman laging panalo e. Siyempre minsan magiistart ka talaga sa baba. Although puro kami ano, may positive naman,” he said.
“Mas maganda nang mag-start kami rito, mas marami kaming matututunan, and madadala namin next conference. Hopefully, maka-bounce back.”
That’s why Arana and Co. aren’t giving up whatsoever heading into the last four games of their elimination round campaign in the ongoing tourney.
The FiberXers will be facing perennial contenders in San Miguel Beer, Meralco, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, and TNT, in that order.
“Positive pa rin kami. Kahit ‘yung last four games namin malalakas, positive pa rin kami. Lalaban pa rin kami,” he said.
“Hindi namin ibibigay ng madali ang panalo. Hopefully, makakuha kami ng panalo sa last four games namin.”
