Aside from Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos is the other hero in the San Miguel Beermen’s 108-106 victory over the Kia Picanto Friday night, thanks to the block he made against Glenn Khobuntin’s shot.
The 12-year veteran swatted away Khobuntin’s potential game-winning jumper, which came off an isolation play set up from the top of the key, in the match’s final three seconds, thus ending Kia’s upset aspirations.
But for the league’s two-time Most Valuable Player, that stop of his actually means more than a simple block.
The 36-year-old admitted that he was challenged by the much younger Khobuntin in their match-up, as the National University product had made some shots in Santos’ face during Kia’s 24-3 scoring spree in the payoff period.
“Na-challenge ako kasi nadalawahan niya ako eh,” said Santos, who led San Miguel with 27 and 12. “Para sa akin pride ko na yun kung mashoshootan pa ako nung huli, kaya talagang naka-focus ako nung time na yun na i-stop yun.
“Kasi gustung-gusto niya hingin yung bola eh, parang sa isip ko ‘kayang-kaya ako nito ah,’ parang nawala yung respeto sa akin. Kaya na-challenge ako dun. Mabuti naman na-block ko siya.”
Still, Santos is just relieved that SMB was able to eke out a victory and was able to save themselves from utter humiliation in losing to a bottom-ranked team.
“Sa tagal ko na naglalaro maraming mga muntik-muntik na yan eh. Mabuti ngayon hindi kami na-muntikan,” he said. “Hay nako. Mabuti na lang God is good at nanalo kami, na-shoot ni Marcio, ang ganda nung pasa ni [Chris] Ross.
“Maganda rin nangyayari sa’min eh, para at least nakikita namin na marami pa kaming kailangan i-improve sa team namin.”
