ARWIND Santos insisted the pace of the offense is hardly an indication of what the outcome of the games in the PBA Finals are going to be moving forward.
In a battle between an offensive powerhouse in San Miguel against a defense-oriented Magnolia side, the Hotshots dictated the tempo in Game Three on Sunday night on the way to an 86-82 win for a 2-1 lead in the series.
But Santos cited Game 2’s relatively high-scoring encounter that resulted in a 108-101 win for the Hotshots as an example outside the perception that a low-scoring game would result in a loss for the Beermen.
“Hindi,” Santos stressed . “Hindi ko nakikita kung low-scoring o high-scoring. Kasi noong una, high-scoring tinalo nila kami. Kung sino talaga maganda idedepensa, yun ang mananalo.”
Santos was the brightest spot for the Beermen in the loss, firing a team-high 19 points although making just eight of his 22 shots, 12 rebounds, four assists, and three blocks against two turnovers in 38 minutes.
The former MVP remains confident that the Beermen can climb from this 1-2 hole in the series.
“Wala yan, hindi kami kinakabahan sa ganyan,” Santos said. “Ita-tie lang namin yan, sisiguraduhin namin na mananalo kami ng Game 4. Tapos best-of-three ang usapan.”
Santos, though, is not taking anything away from the Hotshots.
“Maganda yung depensa nila,” Santo said. “May adjustment sila sa offense nila na ginawa na hindi namin napaghandaan. Ganoon naman ang basketball, kailangan mo mag-imbento, kailangan mo gumawa ng bagong weapon para magamit mo sa susunod na game.”
“Ako personally, yung depensa namin, hindi talaga masyadong maganda,” he added. “Kung titignan mo, dikit pa rin yung laro. Bawat game naman, kahit sabihin mong nananalo kami, mayroon pa rin kaming kailangan i-correct.”
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