Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Arwind Santos wasn’t too concerned about his poor offensive showing in San Miguel Beer’s loss to Alaska in Game 1 of the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup Finals. What got on his nerves was when he got called for his last foul with still over three minutes left with the game on the line.
“My teammates were playing well so I focused on defense, but that was really a thin call,” Santos said in Filipino on Sunday after the Beermen’s 100-91 loss in a game where they led by as high as 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“That’s how I play defense and I don’t know how I graduated. Ever since the eliminations, that’s how I played defense,” added Santos.
San Miguel Beer entered the finals opener already without its two-time MVP in June Mar Fajardo due to a knee injury and in the crucial stages of Sunday’s game, the Beermen also lost their other MVP in Santos, who picked up his sixth foul with still 3:34 left that allowed Vic Manuel to tie the game at 86 on his two free throws.
The 34-year-old Santos, who only had four points on a woeful 2-of-11 shooting from the field and measly five rebounds in nearly 34 minutes of action, also rued his team’s turnovers down the stretch.
“Our composure was there, and I trust my teammates, it’s just that some of our players committed crucial turnovers which I think were brought about by Alaska’s pressure defense and that’s something we need to correct,” Santos said.
“We’ve faced Alaska so many times already, we should know by now that they will put us in a full-court pressure every time.”