‘Small’ Marano coming up big for PSL Manila

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

UST-KAMENOGORSK, Kazakhstan — You won’t miss her out there on the court: She hits hard, screams even harder and literally lifts her teammates up after a point. Oh and let’s not forget about the hair clips.

Benched in the first game here, Aby Marano is slowly but surely becoming a integral part of the Rebisco PSL Manila competing here in the tough Asian Women’s Club Championships.

During a heart-to-heart talk with the coaching staff, Marano even shared her thoughts.

“I was thinking (after not being used against Hisamitsu Springs) that once I get to play I will play my heart out,” said Marano, who went on to score 10 points against Vietin Bank the following day.

Head coach Francis Vicente cited the energy Marano provides to the team which was sorely needed after it absorbed a three-set defeat to Tianjin Bohai Bank.

“That’s how she (Marano) generates energy, let’s all have that energy,” said Vicente.

“Let’s not forget why we’re here. It doesn’t stop here we are just beginning let’s show that we deserve to be here,” said the F2 Logistics stalwart of the Philippine Superliga.

The 24-year-old Marano, however, is undersized for a middle hitter at 5-foot-9 which could play a big factor in the selection of the national team preparing for the Southeast Asian Games and Asian Seniors.

The team is already teeming with towering middles like 6-foot Mika Reyes, 6-foot-3 Gen Casugod, 6-foot-2 Lourdes Clemente and 5-foot-10 Maika Ortiz.

“I know that I’m small for the position, and we have many middle hitters here,” said Marano. “But I don’t want to stop there, so I tried to lose weight so I can jump higher.”

Against Supreme of Thailand on Monday, Marano gets the chance to play against her idol, superstar Pleumjit Thinkaow — if and when she gets to play.