From PBA to Pro: Shawn Maranan Showing Hometown Tenacity Trumps All

Where many coach’s kids might have received special treatment, Maranan says his dad demanded discipline and accountability from his son. If anything, he was tougher on his son than the other kids.

“My dad was hard on me. Any time somebody else would make a mistake, he’d put that on me,” he remembered.

“That really helped me in the future – he really taught me how to win.”

At the PBA, the community gathered around basketball. The rowdy crowds of Canada Life Centre aren’t a new phenomenon for Maranan.

“I’m definitely used to big crowds. It was always a packed gym growing up,” he smiled.

Maranan’s ability on the court became apparent early on, as he would often hold his own against kids four or five years older than him playing in the PBA. The small kid who would dominate his bigger, older opponents with skill and intelligence, he became a well-known face among the Winnipeg basketball community.

His passion for the game vaulted him to stardom at Sisler High School, during which time he averaged over 20 points per game leading Team Manitoba in the 2017 Canada Summer Games.

But his success was going overlooked. He wasn’t getting the looks from collegiate coaches that he had worked so hard for. He graduated without a program to continue his career with. For the first time in most his life, he didn’t have a jersey to put on, or an elite team to lace up for.

Searching for purpose outside of the game, Marnan took a job working late shifts at the airport’s Enterprise Rent-A-Car. With each car he cleaned, he felt his dream of playing professionally slipping. There was a fire growing inside of him. He knew he just needed a chance.

“I went through a lot of adversity working all those days and all those hours. It really made me hungry. It gave me another perspective on life and a mindset to never take anything for granted,” he explained.

“I always told myself that when I do get an opportunity, I’m going to take it and give it my 100 per cent effort every day.”

It was almost as though, just down Portage Avenue, Mike Raimbault heard him.

After speaking with Maranan’s high school coach, the University of Winnipeg bench boss invited the restless young guard to join in on a team workout. He couldn’t have imagined where that call would take them both.

“When Shawn came to work out with us, you could see that he had a lot of tools to be successful at our level, but he would also need to work hard to develop,” Raimbault recalled.

“We offered him a chance to come in and work his way up and he really embraced that.”

One practice turned into a week of practices, and quickly, Maranan became a mainstay in the Wesmen locker room. He made the roster as a walk-on the following year.

“He played a back-up role his first year but was ready to take the lead when the time came and has done a tremendous job ever since.”

Maranan’s rise within the Winnipeg program has been meteoric. After averaging only 1.5 points per game in sparing playing time in his first year with the team, he burst onto the scene as a sophomore and never looked back. Now a conference all-star, he most recently earned his second straight Wesmen Male Athlete of the Year Award after leading the team to the Canada West Championship Final this season.

Just like the short kid punching above his weight against older players in the PBA, Maranan’s commitment to honing his mental acumen for the game has helped him to excel at the University of Winnipeg.

“He really understands his teammates and puts them in the best situations for them to be successful. He works hard to see how teams are defending and knows how to attack and find advantages,” explained Raimbault.

“He makes the game so much easier for all of his teammates, myself included,” he added.

Maranan says that being a coach’s son played an important role in developing his prowess as a floor general.

“It’s definitely influenced [my play style]. Me being a point guard, you have to set the table for everybody,” he remarked.

Once hoping for a look from a college coaching staff, Maranan was starting to catch the eyes of professional teams. After spending time with the Sea Bears as a practice player last summer, the team selected him 28th overall in the 2024 CEBL Draft ahead of this season.

“When I look back on it, I feel like God put me in that position to get me to where I am today,” he said.

Making good on his promise to himself, Maranan is giving his first professional opportunity everything he has. He says he’ll use the season to learn as much as he can in hopes of continuing his professional career after he graduates from the U of W next year.

Fortunately for Maranan, the Sea Bears’ roster is full of players who have succeeded on the professional path that he’s looking to follow. Even more fittingly, his backcourt mates Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson and Mason Bourcier have done so from the Canada West ranks.

“I played against Mason a few years back when he was at Trinity Western. He was a talented player in our conference, and he’s been helping me out a lot talking to me about the game and the stuff outside the game that comes with basketball,” he said. “He’s been an amazing teammate and an amazing person, and I’m glad I get to share the court with him every day.”

From being uncertain about his future in basketball five short years ago to playing professionally with his hometown across his chest today, Maranan’s journey makes him a role model for every kid in his community with a dream of pursuing the same goal.

“At the PBA, I remember looking up to a lot of players who played at the university or pro levels. It’s kind of weird how I’m in that position now where I get to be the person who’s looked up to,” he admitted.

“I embrace it. I want the younger generation to know that it doesn’t matter how tall we are, how fast we are or how strong we are – as long as you give it your 100 per cent effort, you’re going to get the results that you want.”

While still in the early stages of his pro career, Maranan’s story has made an impact that will far outlast his time as a player. His work ethic and perseverance are representative of the passion for basketball shared by so many others in Winnipeg and the Filipino community.

He’ll be the first to say that his journey is just one part of a much larger movement.

“I know there’s going to be more. I know there’s a lot of great Filipino hoopers on the come-up.”

The Sea Bears will continue their current homestand tonight at 7 p.m. against the Niagara River Lions in a game that will celebrate Filipino Heritage Month. For tickets, visit seabears.ca/tickets.