No love lost between TNT, San Miguel as Cruz, Santos get into spat

Things get testy between TNT, San Miguel in their quarterfinal duel. Pyoto by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

There was no love lost between fierce rivals San Miguel Beer and TNT on Tuesday night in their quarterfinals duel at Mall of Asia Arena.

With the game already decided, things got testy between the two teams when Beermen forward Arwind Santos and KaTropa guard Jericho Cruz got into a heated exchange at the 1:20 mark of the fourth quarter.

Cruz was given a flagrant foul penalty 1 for hitting Santos with a forearm while Santos picked up his second technical foul and was thrown out of the court.

The two veterans, however, quickly put the incident behind as tempers eventually cooled off moments after the game.

“Honestly, we were both hotheaded inside the court but I just really want to forget what happened,” said Santos in Filipino. “There’s a part of me that wanted to get back at him but I’m just thankful that I have this tendency to forget what happened and be professional.”

“Whatever happened earlier inside the court doesn’t mean anything to me after the game,” said Cruz. “Unless I get approached then, I got to do something about but after the game, it’s nothing.”

Santos said the emotions and competitiveness just took over during the incident.

He also owned up to his actions and added he’s already forgiven Cruz.

“Inside the dugout, we prayed and I already asked for forgiveness for what happened. I admit that I have done wrong and I forgive Jericho because that’s just how it is. Sometimes we struggle to control our emotions during the game because all of us want to win and that’s part of our job.”

The 36-year-old Santos, though, had the final say with San Miguel taking a 106-93 win to advance into the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals. He finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four blocks.

Cruz, meanwhile, struggled offensively, scoring only three points after averaging 17.0 points in his first two games with the KaTropa. He also had six rebounds and eight assists but committed seven turnovers in 31 minutes.