LUCENA – Arwind Santos felt Joe Devance should’ve been called for two infractions in the play where he scored the putback that sent Game Two of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals to overtime where Ginebra held on to a 124-118 win.
The SMB star forward defended his Gin Kings counterpart in the dying seconds of regulation, insisting Devance committed a loose ball foul on him before getting the offensive rebound for the putback.
“Dapat nga foul pa ‘yun. May tulak pa ‘yun,” said Santos, who fell down after Devance got the second serving off his own miss.
[See Ginebra outlasts SMB in Lucena OT thriller to even Finals series]
Santos also felt Devance committed a double-dribble violation when he picked up his own miss that didn’t touch even just the board.
“Pwede pang tawagan ng double (dribble) kasi hindi hindi naman tumama ng board,” Santos said. “Natapik ko nung nasa kamay na niya. Pero nung binato na niya, hindi na tumama yun.”
The SMB forward had a piece of the leather that altered Devance’s first attempt, forcing him to get his miss for the second serving.
But Santos, who led SMB with 23 points on 9-of-26 shooting, 15 boards, three steals, two blocks, and one assist against three turnovers in over 45 minutes, was left to stick with the positives of the game.
“Pero hindi na namin tinitignan yan,” the former MVP said. “Move on na kami para sa Game Three.”
“Ang maganda dito, nahabol namin yung malaki nilang kalamangan,” he added.
[See Marcio denies taunting pal Mercado with 'Sol-t bae' stunt]