Arwind Santos. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Arwind Santos has experienced his fair share of failures, and when he saw his alma mater Far Eastern University falter in the Final Four against Ateneo he wanted the Tamaraws to learn from the heartbreak and go into the future with a better outlook.
“I hope the players don’t look at this loss as a reason to lose confidence in themselves or become lazy,” said Santos in Filipino Wednesday after FEU lost, 88-84, in overtime at Mall of Asia Arena.
“They should become better after this.”
READ: Ateneo escapes FEU, faces DLSU in UAAP Finals rematch
FEU held a 67-59 lead midway through the fourth quarter but Ateneo cut the deficit and went on to tie the game at 69 on Mike Nieto’s triple with 3:41 left in the period.
Jasper Parker gave FEU a 75-72 buffer with 14.5 seconds left but Isaac Go sent the game to extra time with a booming triple six seconds later, tying the game at 75.
Arvin Tolentino had a chance to win the game for FEU but he turned the ball over to pave the way for overtime.
READ: No regrets for Tolentino after costly error: ‘That’s part of the game’
“It was a good game, they fought until the very end, we could’ve won,” said Santos, a one-time PBA MVP and multiple-time champion. “Of course, it hurts to see when they lost.”
Santos, who was a No. 2 overall pick in the PBA, said Tolentino should learn from his mistake.
Tolentino was isolated twice in the overtime period that allowed Matt Nieto to score five straight points that gave Ateneo an 85-80 lead with 46.9 seconds left in the game.
“There were mistakes on defense and that last offensive sequence in regulation by Arvin,” said Santos. “I wish that he learns from this, this will be one of the things that he’ll look at and this will motivate him to be better.”