VINTAGE Arwind Santos showed up in his first official game with new team NorthPort in the PBA Governors Cup.
And the winning mentality remains as timeless as the man is.
Arwind Santos: team success more important
The 40-year-old veteran said he’ll still take the win in exchange for those eye-popping numbers which he delivered in a losing cause for the Batang Pier against the Alaska Aces, 87-85, Wednesday during the opener of the season-ending meet at the Ynares Sports Arena.
Santos, the 2013 league MVP, took charge for NorthPort in the endgame, pouring 14 of his game-high 23 points in the final quarter when the team rallied back from 11 points down and briefly regained the upperhand, 85-84.
But Robbie Herndon and Jeron Teng had other things in mind as they connived to bail out the Aces and foil Santos’ Batang Pier debut.
Santos added seven rebounds and had no turnovers in 30 minutes of play for an auspicious coming out party with NorthPort.
He stressed though, he’d rather see his team win than lose a game notwithstanding the final stand the Batang Pier did in the final five minutes.
“Aanhin mo yung stats kung talo naman kayo,” said Santos, obviously grateful for the opportunity, but at the same time, downplaying the performance that turned back the hands of time during the days he was winning championships with San Miguel as part of its dreaded ‘Death Five.’
“Kahit two points lang ako, ang importante manalo kayo.”
Santos said he’s still adjusting with his new environment, though he pointed out how he liked the way NorthPort rose to the occasion by coming back and almost stole the game from the Aces down the stretch.
“Yung last five minutes maganda ang nilaro namin. Kaya bukas (Thursday) may viewing kami, pag-uusapan namin kung ano yung dapat naming i-improve pagdating sa laro,” he stressed.
“Dapat kami yung hinahabol, hindi kami yung humahabol. So kailangan mahanap naming yung tamang proseso o tamang dapat na gawin para hindi kami umabot sa point na kami ang maghahabol.”
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