Before Friday night’s double-header, the San Miguel Beermen had been away from the hardcourt for 20 days. Having to settle for practice sessions and tune-ups during that stretch, Arwind Santos was the first to admit that they had been counting the days before they could once again step foot at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“Siguro na-tigang kami dahil sa tagal naming walang laro,” the 11-year pro admitted.
And Santos played like a man refreshed against the Globalport Batang Pier, pouring in 30 points to go along with eight rebounds and five blocks in 35 minutes of action.
“Minsan masasabi mo na napa-ganda ba sa’min yung bakasyon namin o napasama ba? At least napa-ganda kasi kita naman, yung performance namin nandoon,” he added as San Miguel picked up a 115-112 win over Globalport even with June Mar Fajardo limited to just seven minutes of game time.
But more than his output, the 11-year veteran rewrote his personal-record once more as he nailed a career-best seven three-pointers. However, the 35-year-old was not aware of his own feat until he was informed after the match.
“‘Di ko nga alam e. Basta sinabi na lang sa’kin nung in-interview ako kanina,” shared Santos who was in the zone for the entire game.
But upon learning about the contributions he was able to bring, the 2013 league Most Valuable Player was then elated.
“Nakakatuwa dahil kahit papano nakakacontribute ka — sino ba naman hindi magiging masaya kung isa ka sa mga nakakacontribute sa team mo?” said the multi-titled forward.
The Beermen are coming off a lengthy break, but a tight schedule is on the horizon as they will play NLEX this Sunday — their second game in three days. It may be a concern, but Santos does not have any qualms with it.
“May mga conditioning naman kami na ginagawa at preparado naman kami,” said Santos. “Kailangan talaga kasi yung goal namin mabigat yun.
“Kung hindi kami prepared, yung pangarap namin parang titignan na lang namin yun, hindi namin kayang akyatin yun kung di kami kondisyon.”
