Converge FiberXers’ Justin Arana during a PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals game against Rain or Shine Elastopainters. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—After almost a month of missing action, Justin Arana returned just at the nick of time to help Converge move one win away from reaching the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals after defeating Rain or Shine in Game 1 of the quarters.
The FiberXers zoomed past the Elasto Painters, 130-118, at Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday behind the efforts of their returning big man who was sidelined last month due to a hyperextended knee.
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SCHEDULE: 2024-2025 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals
“Our focus is to win. This is our fifth quarterfinals and we never got past those past four appearances so we’re super eager to get that and seal this Game 1 win,” said the Arellano product in Filipino.
“Hopefully on Friday, we get another win so we can punch our first semis ticket.”
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Converge FiberXers’ Justin Arana during a PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals game against Rain or Shine Elastopainters. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
On the heels of his return from injury, Arana showed no let up with a near double-double of 22 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes of action.
It seemed like Arana’s time away from the court also helped him up his efficiency as he missed just one shot out of 11 attempts from the field for a blistering 90.9 percent shooting clip.
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As if those motivators weren’t enough, his head-to-head matchup with Rain or Shine rookie Caelan Tiongson lit a fire under him.
Their high-intensity clash even came to a boiling point in the third quarter when Tiongson seemingly got under Arana’s skin, tricking him into giving up an elbow on an off-ball play.
Instead of frowning upon the enforced three-minute sit-out, Arana came back in the fourth quarter with vengeance in mind to push Converge near an eluded semis spot.
“I’m more motivated like that, especially on moments when I want to show who I am or what I can do inside the court,” he said. “Of course, Tiongson is a competitor but I can’t just be bullied. Kung kaya ko’ng pumalag, papalag naman talaga.”
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The FiberXers look to close out their best-of-three series with Rain or Shine on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
