Arwind Santos walked out of the parquet floor of Mall of Asia Arena in a not too familiar situation.
In the four years since San Miguel hired Leo Austria as its head coach, the Beermen have never lost a finals series until Wednesday when they surrendered to the crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra.
Santos, a seven-time champion, has experienced countless losses in his 12-year professional career but this setback stung the most for him.
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An articulate man, Santos still had the look of someone simply going home after a day’s work but his words gave away his unbridled emotion.
“We accept what happened even if it’s painful,” said Santos in Filipino after their 93-77 Game 6 loss in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals. “We’re all people here and we all get hurt.”
The Beermen, the defending champions going into the series, even took a 2-1 series lead after two consecutive blowout wins in Games 2 and 3 but lost steam in the following three outings.
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San Miguel’s stand in the first half of Game 6 was its last hoorah after the Gin Kings put up an intoxicating 27-8 third quarter to take a 62-46 lead en route to the clincher.
Santos, although saddened by the loss, still found a way to cope with his emotions.
“This is still a good thing for people who are always winning that success won’t always come,” said Santos who had five points, six rebounds, and two blocks. “Sometimes you will get hurt.”
“But if you get hurt, it doesn’t mean that you’re unlucky, or that you’re not blessed. You should know that not everything would go your way. There are things that rightfully belong to you, if not then don’t force it but the important thing is you just pray for it.”