Justin Arana gained a massive confidence-booster after emerging as Most Valuable Player in the Blitz Game of the Philippine Basketball Association All-Star festivities over the weekend at the University of St. La Salle Gym in Bacolod City.
The 6-foot-7 Arana said the special award fired him up, especially after winning the Rookie of the Year honors last season.
Arana dropped 36 points on a sizzling 16-of-21 shooting from the field to go with eight rebounds in leading Team Greats to a 142-133 win over Team Stalwarts in the prestigious midseason spectacle.
He said he played his heart out knowing that winning an award will definitely be a major boost to his young career.
“As a player, this is a major boost to me. Although this is just an All-Star game, of course, this will help me gain the confidence that I need,” said Arana, who was selected by Converge with the fourth overall pick in the Season 47 draft.
“So, I took the game as something that can boost my confidence.”
Arana needs the added confidence very badly.
In fact, Converge is the only team that has yet to win in the ongoing Philippine Cup, giving it enough reason to reflect and reground during the Holy Week respite.
“My team is struggling but of course, we’re willing to do everything to win. We’re still motivated despite being at the bottom of the team standings,” Arana said.
“That’s why we need to double our effort. Hopefully, we can get a win very soon.”
Arana, who pocketed P30,000 for winning the Blitz Game MVP honors, said everything will not be possible without the help of his teammates.
“This is a team effort,” said Arana, who was backed up by Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Javi Gomez De Liano, Kenneth Tuffin, Jerrick Ahanmisi, Ralph Cu, Andrei Caracut, RK Ilagan, Alec Stockton, Gian Mamuyac, James Laput and Shaun Ildefonso, with Barangay Ginebra deputy coach Patrick Partosa calling the shots. They ran away with P100,000 cash prize.
“We supported and cheered each other up. We enjoyed the game and stuck to the game plan of our coaches.”
