Though the San Miguel Beermen have looked invulnerable during the last five years – especially in the Philippine Cup – the stacked squad is still beatable.
Last Wednesday, the Beermen absorbed a 94-99 Game One loss in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup to the Magnolia Hotshots.
But it’s no cause for concern, according to Arwind Santos.
“Hindi nagpa-panic ang team namin sa mga ganiyang sitwasyon. Kahit sabihin mong ang team San Miguel ay malakas, hindi kami pwedeng talunin ng ibang team,” shared the seven-time PBA champion.
“Tinatalo nga kami ng Kia eh.”
To open their campaign, the Beermen dropped a 118-124 loss to the Columbian Dyip, an upstart squad who did not make the playoffs.
San Miguel also suffered losses to TNT, Rain or Shine, and Phoenix throughout the conference.
Still, at the end of the day, the Beermen are the ones in the Finals.
“Ganoon talaga, bilog ang bola,” the 2013 Most Valuable Player continued.
Santos admitted that his squad had been too anxious to start off the best-of-seven series.
For his part, the 6-foot-4 utility forward came out blazing, scoring eight of his 15 points in the opening frame. He fizzled out in the final stanza, however, going scoreless in the last 12 minutes.
But come Game Two on Friday, he is confident that the Beermen can get their act together.
“Sabi nga nila, kaunting disiplina lang sa offense namin. Siguro nanggigil lang. Yun ang problema eh, nagmamadali kaming talunin ang Magnolia, hindi dapat ganoon. Kaya nawawala kami sa sistema namin,” he said.
“Pero tingin ko naman masusolusyonan namin.”
