ARWIND SANTOS is the not the first basketball player to say he’s still got the juice for pro ball despite the signs saying otherwise.
After playing in the PBA for nearly two decades — 17 years, to be exact — Arwind says he is not thinking of retirement. For him, the retirement of his San Miguel Beer jersey a week ago is just a chapter in his storied basketball career. There’s still gas in the tank, he avers, though many think he’s running on fumes.
Arwind is 42 years old, an age when many of his contemporaries have said goodbye to life on the hardcourt. But the nine-time champion with San Miguel is not one of them. Being a former MVP, he knows that playing at the highest level of competition is not just about dribbling, defending, and shooting two and three-pointers. It demands an almost daily regimen of conditioning that runs the gamut of running, weightlifting, calisthenics, and the energy-sapping five-on-five practice sessions that simulate actual games.
If Arwind can survive these rigors and still has plenty to spare — then good, he can stay in the game.
But, to go by his outing at NorthPort (to which he was traded two years ago and which cut him one year later) and to go by his recent exploits with a Pampanga team in the second-tier league MPBL (where he transferred shortly after), his was not a glowing performance.
Let’s give it to Arwind just the same. It is difficult for one to see when one’s time has passed, especially for a player like him whose record of excellence in the PBA has few equals.
READ: After jersey retirement, Arwind insists he's not done playing
Like many athletes before him — and this is true not just for basketball players — the idea of retirement is to be dreaded. It signals irrelevance, even obscurity. By announcing that he’s still in the mix, he wants to remain part of the conversation. He says he’s just nursing a small injury, and that once it heals he’s making a comeback.
“Gusto ko ngayon pahinga ako kasi galing din ako sa injury nung nasa NorthPort ako. Naglaro ako pero feel ko hindi siya gagaling hangga’t naglalaro ako. Kailangan talaga ipapahinga siya,” Santos says to SPIN.ph the day his jersey was retired.
“Kasi ang feeling ko ngayon kapag napapahinga siya, lumalakas siya. Yan ang nararamdaman ko,” he adds. “Pero, ako, I’m hoping. Gusto ko pa ring makabalik dahil kasi yan ang passion ko at mahal ko pa rin ang basketball. At yung mga anak ko, gusto pa rin nila akong makitang maglaro.”
Asked which team he may play for, Arwind says he really doesn’t know.
I can visualize Arwind playing again. Just not with a top-tier PBA team, not with the RSA and MVP teams, but with another team looking for a guy who, getting off the bench, provides immediate firepower. Between games, he can be a role model for recruits, the mentor dispensing with valuable tricks learned only by playing with powerhouse players in powerhouse teams.
After all, Arwind is one of the few who’ve played at the elite level for a long, sustained period, which is a decided plus. He is also 6-4, which is a clear advantage. (Really, how many Filipino players are that tall?)
I think Arwind will fit well in second- and third-tier teams like Terrafirma, Converge, Phoenix, or Bossing — teams that need a stabilizing factor when pressure is at its peak, particularly in tight endgame situations.
Or he can return to the MPBL, the last league he played for. If healthy, he could rise to be a star again, although possibly not as bright a presence as when he was in the PBA. The MPBL may not have the same perks and salary scale as the PBA, but he will be playing, and that’s the important thing.
Maybe that’s good enough for him and his kids who want to see him play again. Now, who wants to disappoint children?
BONUS SHOT
My kumpadre, Al S. Mendoza, just released a book titled Spectator Gems. It’s a compilation of his columns when he was sports editor of the Philippine Daily Inquirer from 1986 to 2000. There is much to know and learn about Philippine sports from his writing, which is both breezy and exciting. Reading the book, it seems he was always there when Philippine sports history was being made. Available in bookstores and shopping websites. Call 89266642 local 110 or 09228471515 for a copy.
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