Play is a Google service. It kind of smacks of something beginning with "h" and ending with "ypocrisy" when you still use a Google service after going through the requisite self-flagellation to go out of your way to not use them, and then write a tone-deaf article on how awesome it is to do so.
It doesn't make much sense that someone would go through all this effort to ditch a company and still use one of their flagship products. That would be like me swearing off Apple and still carrying an iPhone.
Android and Play aren't synonymous. You can use Android without any trace of Google on your system; and, since Android is open source, it can be verified none of your information is being leaked.