San Miguel Beermen. Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Winning championships is one thing and making history is another.
And after San Miguel claimed the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Arwind Santos knows that this group of Beermen have a golden chance to join en elite company by completing a rare Grand Slam.
“That’s one thing in history that our batch hasn’t gotten yet,” Santos said in Filipino.
The 2013 PBA Most Valuable Player acknowledges the huge historical implications if indeed San Miguel collects the Triple Crown.
“If we get it, we’ll be compared to the likes of Ramon Fernandez and Hector Calma,” he said, alluding to the 1989 San Miguel squad which pulled off the feat under the tutelage of coach Norman Black.
“It’s a motivation for our group that as much as possible, we could get that. And next conference, I think we can and I wish we can.”
Santos knows that making an imprint in the history books is no doubt career-defining, one that will put this San Miguel batch together with legendary PBA teams.
“If you have your place in history, even if you’re already old or already dead, that’s one of the things basketball fans will always remember,” he said.
It’s not like Santos and the rest of the Beermen haven’t achieved anything extraordinary yet.
In fact, this version of San Miguel has already won five titles in eight conferences including the 2016 Philippine Cup where it became the only team in the rich history of the PBA to come back from a 0-3 series deficit. They have also ruled the last three editions of the Philippine Cup.
Santos, however, said that San Miguel remains hungry as it seeks to extend its dynasty with another title romp in the season-ending Governors’ Cup.
“When we become champions, we become stronger together. This becomes our bread-and-butter, and we want to continue that this coming conference. We’re thankful that we’re winning the championship, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll stop dreaming,” he said.
“The feeling of being a champion is so sweet, so why not do it continually? We’re not getting tired and we’re keeping our feet on the ground. We want to continue dreaming because it’s rare to have a group like this.”