From ‘5 to 8’: Santos says San Miguel struggled to guard Ginebra’s ‘shadows’

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

After San Miguel’s Game 3 downfall on Tuesday, Arwind Santos said that his team had a hard time playing against Ginebra and its “shadows.”

The outspoken and often poetic Santos was seemingly trying to conceal what he really meant when he said the Beermen were playing against “eight” on the floor in their 95-87 loss to the Gin Kings.

“Parang may mga shadow yung mga players kanina eh. Parang yung lima, nagiging walo kaya parang nahihirapan kami bantayan kasi lima lang yung kalaban, pero nagiging walo. Ewan ko kung sobrang bilis nila kaya may shadow. Parang ganun eh,” he said without elaborating.

(It was like the players had shadows earliers. It felt like five players became eight that’s why we were having a difficultly guarding them because our five opponents became eight. I don’t know if they were just too fast so that’s why they had shadows. But it felt like that.)

Like in Game 2, the Beermen came out flat once again on Tuesday and fell behind by as much as 14, 79-65, entering the fourth quarter.

San Miguel managed to claw its way back and get into within three twice in the clutch–with 6:07 left and again with 2:08 in the clock–but Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio put on the finishing touches for Ginebra.

“We almost got them. They were lucky that (Prince Caperal) made the three points and got them back up by six,” said Santos said after Ginebra tried to pull away agin, 90-81, with 4:38 to play.

But likening this 2018 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals to a fruit-bearing tree, Santos said that San Miguel is still “motivated to get that tree.”

“Medyo nagkakagulo ngayon sa titulo eh,” he said, laughing at his own metaphors. “Marami palang may-ari, pero ‘di pa rin kami papayag. Makikipag-negotiate pa rin kami para makuha yung puno na yun, tutal naka-isang kaing naman na kami. Lamang pa rin naman kami sa series.”

(There are some dispute with regard to the land title. There are a lot who are staking their claim, but we won’t allow them. We’ll negotiate to get that tree since we’ve already got a bunch of fruit. We’re still ahead in this series.)

.@TheSMBeermen’s @arwindsotnas talks about his team’s “failure to buy the tree” after this Game 3 defeat. #PBA2018 pic.twitter.com/R62uAJwlAp

— Randolph B. Leongson (@RLeongsonINQ) March 13, 2018

Santos, who finished with 13 points on a 5-of-11 shooting from the field, and six rebounds, remains defiant as he believes that San Miguel still has the edge entering Game 4 on Thursday.

“The good thing with our team is that whatever happens, we stay together. We’ll lose together and we’ll win together,” he said.