ANTIPOLO CITY - Arwind Santos is not one who's fond of making excuses.
He did believe though San Miguel has yet to fully recover from the weary of playing in the finals of the PBA Philippine Cup where the team was extended to a deciding Game 7 by Magnolia before finally winning a fifth straight All-Filipino title.
And the effect has been showing up early in the team's Commissioner's Cup campaign after the Beermen tumbled to their second straight loss - a 110-97 decision against TnT Katropa on Saturday at the Ynares Center.
"Andun rin yung pagod pa kasi sobrang ikli ng bakasyon, ng preparasyon namin. Hindi kamukha nung dati nung nag-champion kami ng All-Filipino kahit isang buwan meron kami," said Santos, who would be turning 38 on June 10.
"Ito wala e, halos two weeks lang. Kahit pigain mo yung bawat isa. Ang nagdadala na lang dito yung puso lang, sacrifice, at tsaka yung samahan na lang namin talaga para i-push ang bawat isa," he added. Pero to be honest, lahat kami pagod pa."
What made it worse was Santos injured his right hand that kept him out for most of the game against TnT. Good thing, he didn't suffer a dislocation
"Wala namang na-dislocate. Kailangan lang pababain yung maga," said the former league MVP, who assured he will play in San Miguel's next outing.
Although it's not the way the Beermen would want to start their campaign, Santos believes there is still enough time for the team to recover.
"Zero-two pa lang naman. Ito naman yung team na kahit minsan nasa baba baka kaya pa rin naman naming umakyat," he said. "Kaya lang hindi rin natin masabi, bilog ang bola."
And Santos also knows where credit is due, saying TnT was the better team tonight.
"Ang ganda rin naman ng laro ng TnT kanina," he pointed out.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph