Trade reaction: Arana to SMB, Pascual to Barako, 2016 2nd round pick to RoS

Underrated
(Photo credit to the owner)

Being a true blooded Rain or Shine fan (and a proud La Sallian for about the bulk of my life in the academe), this one stings quite a bit since Ryan Arana has always been a favorite of mine. Drafted 12th overall in the 2nd round of the 2007 PBA Draft, Arana has found a niche in the PBA even before Coach Yeng Guiao introduced his gung-ho style to the team (which all but liberated Arana).

Here's how the most recent PBA deal went:


Ron Pascual to Barako Bull
Honestly, we don't know where Pascual will fit in Coach Koy Banal's system that already features James Forrester, JC Intal, Dylan Ababou, rookies Kris Rosales and JR Alabanza not to mention trigger happy point men Chico Lanete, RR Garcia AND Josh Urbiztondo. They also have guards Jens Knuttel and Jeric Fortuna, but fortunately for Pascual those two would rather pass than shoot first.

But still, you get the picture. Pascual will need to out-everything incumbents Ababou and Intal at the 3 spot, or out-shoot gunners Forrester (who is probably looking to prove himself and relive his NCAA MVP days), Urbiztondo and Garcia.

Grade: B

Ryan Arana to San Miguel

What? Chris Lutz is still taking his time looking like a mega star one night, and then just another warm body the next? Ronald Tubid is going up in age? Enter Arana, who is just as tenacious and crafty as Tubid, minus the flopping and heavy/ somewhat ridiculous body art. With 2015 draftees Josan Nimes and Don Trollano now in the fold, Rain or Shine was left with little room for Arana and even captain Jireh Ibanes (with the former having more trade value than the latter). It also didn't help Arana's cause that RoS is trying to bring back old ward 6"5 Ronnie Matias so there you have it. This is a good situation for Arana to be in, since SMB looks like it will contend for multiple championships with 2x PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo in tow.

Grade: A

2016 PBA Draft 2nd round round pick to Rain or Shine

Really? All we could get for a crafty two-way player like Arana who is about as low maintenance a player as you can get out of the DLSU system these days, is a 2nd round pick in 2016? Not even a 1st rounder (which would've been huge)? As mentioned, Arana became expendable when Nimes, Trollano and even Matias came into the fold. Was he the guy that we wanted out of the team? No. There's Jeric Teng who continues to look lost in Guiao's schemes. Ibanes' limited offense. So no, if it were up to us, we'd keep Arana. But it's time for a bit of a shake-up after a series of near-finishes. If we couldn't get a major big man, then let's try going for new players to run the wings right?

Grade: C

Wonder who else is going to be traded before the season starts?