Ryan T. Araña (born March 23, 1984) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He played for four teams during his career in the
Philippine Basketball Association
The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...
(PBA). Araña played college basketball at the
De La Salle University
De La Salle University (), also referred to as DLSU, De La Salle or La Salle, is a private, Catholic coeducational research university run by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools with main campus in Taft Avenue, Malate, Man ...
. He was drafted with the twelfth overall pick in the second round of the
2007 PBA draft by the
Welcoat Dragons.
High school career
Araña was born in
Tondo, Manila
Tondo is a district located in Manila, Philippines. It is the largest, in terms of area and population, of Manila's sixteen districts, with a census-estimated 654,220 people in 2020. It consists of two congressional districts. It is also the se ...
.
He started playing basketball at the age of seven.
He looked up to
Robert Jaworski and
Manu Ginóbili
Emanuel David "Manu" Ginóbili ( , ; born 28 July 1977) is an Argentine former professional basketball player. Credited for popularizing the Euro step move in the NBA, he is regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards and sixth men in the le ...
.
In high school, Araña played for the
Colegio de San Lorenzo Baby Griffins in the
NCRAA. He considered going to
Ateneo De Manila for college, but after trying out with
De La Salle, he decided to play for DLSU.
College career
As a member of the
DLSU Green Archers, Araña got to team up with
TY Tang and
Mac Cardona, who he looked up to,
and joined a rookie class that included
JVee Casio and
Jerwin Gaco. He and Tang were the Archers' starting backcourt.
He was a member of the team that won the UAAP championship in 2004, but it was recalled due to technicalities. In 2006, he was no longer eligible to reenroll at La Salle after failing 24 units, ending his college career.
Professional career
Welcoat Dragons / Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2007–2015)
Araña was drafted by the
Welcoat Dragons twelfth overall in the
2007 PBA draft.
With the team, he established his reputation as a gutsy perimeter defender in the league.
He contributed 7.7 points in his rookie season.
In 2009, he scored a career-high 25 points in a loss to the
Burger King Whoppers, but missed what could have been the game-winning free throw.
In 2012, Araña became a PBA champion when his team won the
2012 Governors' Cup. He averaged five points, three rebounds, and two assists in 18 minutes along with his defense during that run.
That year, he was also fined P5,000 for kicking
Meralco Bolts forward
Cliff Hodge in the groin during their game.
In 2013, Araña and Rain or Shine import
Bruno Šundov each scored 20 points to lead the team to a win over Meralco. When his scorer teammate
Jeff Chan got injured, he stepped up in scoring. He scored 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to send Rain or Shine to the
2013 Governors' Cup semifinals. In the semis, Rain or Shine lost to the
Petron Blaze Boosters in four games in a best-of-five series. With them eliminated, Rain or Shine failed to defend its
Governors' Cup title.
Rain or Shine rematched with Petron during the
2013–14 Philippine Cup semifinals.
In Game 5, Araña, along with Chan and
Paul Lee, combined for 43 points on six triples to eliminate Petron.
During the
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
, he injured his
collar bone
The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...
in Game 2.
He missed Game 3, but returned for Game 4. Despite his return, Rain or Shine failed to win the championship, and the
San Mig Coffee Mixers became Philippine Cup champions. They met again in the
2014 Governors' Cup finals, where San Mig beat them once again, and got a
Grand Slam.
In a preseason game, Araña and
NLEX Road Warrior center
Enrico Villanueva got into a scuffle near the end of the first quarter. He got a bloody nose while Villanueva got bruises and a referee was accidentally kicked. The game was stopped, and both players apologized. He was fined P40,000 for his actions. During the
2014–15 Philippine Cup, he missed some games due to a hamstring injury. In the
2015 Commissioner's Cup, Rain or Shine returned to the finals. After game 3 of the finals, he was challenged by the
Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters' import
Ivan Johnson to a fight in the
Araneta Coliseum
The Araneta Coliseum, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Smart Araneta Coliseum, is an indoor multi-purpose arena, sports arena that is part of the Araneta City in the Quezon City#Cubao, Cubao area of Quezon City, Philippines. ...
hallway. Araña's teammates prevented the fight from happening.
San Miguel Beermen (2015–2016)
In September 2015, Araña was traded by Rain or Shine to
Barako Bull Energy
The Barako Bull Energy were a Philippine Basketball Association that began in 2002 as the FedEx Express.
From its first season until 2005, the team was dubbed as the FedEx Express before changing to Air21 Express. From the 2009 PBA Fiesta C ...
in exchange for Barako Bull's 2016 second round pick, but was later traded to the
San Miguel Beermen for
Ronald Pascual. Rain or Shine did the trade to clear space for incoming players. According to Araña, his role with the Beermen would be more on his defense and hustle and less on scoring. It took him some time to get adjusted to the trade, as he had to adjust to going against his former teammates. In Game 5 of the
2015–16 Philippine Cup semifinals, he scored eight points, five rebounds, and five assists against his former team as SMB coasted to the win.
From there, SMB made it to the
finals
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...
, and despite losing star player
June Mar Fajardo for four games, and going down 0–3, they were still able to win the championship.
Mahindra Floodbuster (2016–2017)
In November 2016, Araña was traded by San Miguel along with a 2017 1st round pick to the
Mahindra Floodbuster in exchange for
RR Garcia and
Keith Agovida in a three-team trade. In a Christmas Day game against the
Blackwater Elite, he scored 19 points (with seven of those in overtime) to help Mahindra get its first win of the season. Prior to the start of the 2017 Governors' Cup, he was placed on the free agency list by the team.
GlobalPort Batang Pier / NorthPort Batang Pier (2017–2019)
In 2017, Araña signed with
GlobalPort Batang Pier as a free agent.
There he reunited with
Franz Pumaren, who coached him when he was still with DLSU. He scored 13 points while making all five of his shots in a win over the
Phoenix Fuel Masters. He then had 16 in a win over the
Magnolia Hotshots. In their quarterfinals game against Rain or Shine, he landed badly on his back, and missed some games.
By the Governors' Cup, he was no longer on their roster.
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2020)
In 2020, Araña was back with
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association owned by Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc. It debuted in the league in the 2006–07 PBA season after acquiring the franchise righ ...
as a free agent on a one-conference deal.
It was during this time that he considered retiring. Prior to entering the PBA bubble for the
2020 season, his father passed away, in the same year he lost his father-in-law.
This gave him motivation throughout the season. During the season in the bubble's hotel rooms, he opened a sari-sari store with teammate
Beau Belga, and pranked different PBA players by dressing up as
Sadako from '
''The Ring'''. However, Rain or Shine was eliminated in the quarterfinals by
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. His contract was not renewed at the end of the season.
PBA career statistics
Season-by-season averages
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Welcoat
, 34 , , 20.8 , , .446 , , .216 , , .566 , , 3.3 , , 1.1 , , .4 , , .2 , , 7.7
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 44 , , 19.5 , , .417 , , .360 , , .534 , , 3.5 , , 1.5 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.8
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 51 , , 21.6 , , .415 , , .289 , , .656 , , 3.6 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .1 , , 9.2
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 38 , , 17.9 , , .459 , , .333 , , .613 , , 2.9 , , 2.2 , , .4 , , .1 , , 7.4
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 51 , , 19.7 , , .412 , , .317 , , .584 , , 3.5 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .3 , , 6.4
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 55 , , 18.9 , , .411 , , .299 , , .580 , , 2.8 , , 1.2 , , .5 , , .1 , , 7.4
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 59 , , 19.6 , , .397 , , .288 , , .568 , , 2.7 , , 2.1 , , .5 , , .2 , , 6.5
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 49 , , 14.5 , , .396 , , .253 , , .625 , , 2.1 , , .9 , , .4 , , .0 , , 4.7
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
San Miguel
, 48 , , 10.6 , , .384 , , .375 , , .500 , , 1.7 , , .6 , , .2 , , .1 , , 2.5
, -
, align=left rowspan=2,
, align=left ,
Mahindra
, rowspan=2, 22 , , rowspan=2, 16.9 , , rowspan=2, .370 , , rowspan=2, .306 , , rowspan=2, .786 , , rowspan=2, 3.2 , , rowspan=2, .9 , , rowspan=2, .3 , , rowspan=2, .1 , , rowspan=2, 5.5
, -
, align=left ,
GlobalPort
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
GlobalPort / NorthPort
, 29 , , 11.1 , , .368 , , .241 , , .500 , , 2.3 , , 1.2 , , .6 , , .1 , , 3.3
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
NorthPort
, 11 , , 7.9 , , .219 , , .167 , , .500 , , 1.8 , , .5 , , .5 , , .2 , , 1.8
, -
, align=left ,
, align=left ,
Rain or Shine
, 7 , , 8.7 , , .471 , , .250 , , .500 , , 1.4 , , .9 , , .4 , , .0, , 2.9
, - class=sortbottom
, align=center colspan=2 , Career
, 498 , , 17.3 , , .410 , , .294 , , .592 , , 2.8 , , 1.4 , , .4 , , .1 , , 6.2
Television appearances
In 2020, Araña appeared on the "
Bawal Judgmental" segment of an ''
Eat Bulaga!
''Eat !'' (; stylized as ''Eat... Bulaga!'') is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by Radio Philippines Network, ABS-CBN, GMA Network and TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Originally hosted by Tito S ...
'' episode. He appeared on another episode of that show the following year, this time on the "Cash Landing on You" segment.
Personal life
Araña was once rumored to be a couple with Miss Philippines Fire 2011
Michelle Gavagan. Currently, he is married to Erika Ono and they have a son, Thanos. In 2020, their daughter Marvel was born.
Araña owns a farm in
Tanay, Rizal
Tanay, officially the Municipality of Tanay ( ), is a municipality in the province of Rizal, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 139,420 people.
Tanay is home to the namesake Tanay–Paete dialect of Tagalog, whi ...
along with other small businesses.
He is also interested in photography as a hobby.
Fashion
Araña is known for wearing pink shoes during his games. In his second year in the league, he started wearing pink shoes in honor of his aunt who is a survivor of
breast cancer
Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...
.
With the positive feedback from social media, he continued wearing those shoes and donated half of his bonuses to a breast cancer foundation. In his time with the
Mahindra Enforcer, he switched from wearing his pink shoes to wearing yellow shoes, as a sign that he was changing his image and his play style from being a slasher to a shooter.
When his father died in 2020, he wore pink customized Nikes as a tribute to him.
Araña is also known for his pregame outfits. In 2018, he tried a getup of a suit and shorts prior to a game, which Lebron James had worn prior to Game 1 of that year's
NBA Finals
The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...
. He didn't get to play, but he was quoted as saying"''May kasabihan nga sila, 'If you don’t perform, japorms''.(There is an adage, 'If you don't perform, japorms)'". He has encouraged his teammates to dress up before games. In October of that same year, he, along with teammates
Jeric Teng and
Jonathan Grey, dressed up as characters from the Netflix series '
Money Heist'.
In 2015, Araña was featured on the centerfold of the September 2015 issue of ''
Cosmopolitan Philippines.''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Arana, Ryan
1984 births
Living people
Basketball players from Manila
Competitors at the 2007 SEA Games
De La Salle Green Archers basketball players
Filipino men's basketball players
Mighty Sports players
NorthPort Batang Pier players
People from Tondo, Manila
Philippines men's national basketball team players
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters draft picks
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters players
San Miguel Beermen players
Shooting guards
SEA Games gold medalists for the Philippines
SEA Games medalists in basketball
Terrafirma Dyip players
21st-century Filipino sportsmen