Eager to contribute, Santos wills San Miguel to comeback win

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Arwind Santos seems to have finally gotten into the Finals groove.

After his memorable off-ball moments involving TNT’s Roger Pogoy and Joshua Smith, the Spiderman has started to show why he was the MVP back in 2013.

Santos finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, five blocks, and two steals to lead San Miguel 111-102 over TNT in Game 5 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals Friday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Digging deeper into his numbers, Santos scored more than half of his production in the pivotal third quarter when the Beermen took control of the game.

“I had to step up, because they were up 15 points at the end of the first half (61-46) and this happened when we were down 17-0 [in Game 2] and coach [Leo Austria] put me in,” said Santos. “I was really eager to come in, and my presence of mind just kicked in.”

Santos couldn’t do wrong in the third quarter when he scored 14 of his total points, and his spirited play allowed the Beermen to outscore the KaTropa 36-18 in the penultimate period.

San Miguel’s third quarter was a direct inverse of its second period showing when TNT outscored the Beermen, 35-17.

“When I’m put into that kind of situation I make it a point to contribute in whatever way I can,” said Santos who is gunning for a sixth title in the PBA. “And my contributions turned out to be positive ones and we were able to cut the lead.”