FOR Leo Austria, Arwind Santos would always have a special place in his heart as far as his coaching career is concerned.
The 66-year-old said he owes a lot to the lanky forward, whose clutch basket in the waning seconds of the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Alaska won for him the first of what would be a run of nine championships with the San Miguel Beermen.
Remember Santos’ memorable 'Kamay ng Diyos' shot?
That will forever be etched in Austria's mind and heart.
“Yun ang lagi kong maaalala about Arwind, yung first championship,” said Austria. “Dahil we were down and then tumira siya ng three point (shot).”
REWIND Finals MVP Arwind glad to get monkey off his back
Rewind to nine years ago.
San Miguel blew a 23-point lead and found itself trailing Alaska in the final minute of Game 7 of the all-Filipino Cup Finals.
With the shot clock winding down, Santos – scoreless in the final period after scoring 18 in the first three quarters – hit a pressure-packed three pointer with 43 seconds left to give San Miguel the lead for good, 79-78.
Santos then split his free throws to roun out the 80-78 title-clinching win.
During the postgame celebration, the 6-foot-4 forward, named Finals MVP by the PBA Press Corps, referred to his winning three-pointer as ‘Kamay ng Diyos.’
“Yun last shot ni (Javee) Casio, hindi pumasok. Yun na yun,” recalled Austria of Alaska’s potential game-winning basket from beyond the arc.
It was the first coaching championship for Austria in the league, the first PBA title of June Mar Fajardo, and the first Philippine Cup crown for the Beermen in 14 years. All coming after years of failures and chaos - a chapter in the fabled franchise's history that came to be remembered as 'Petron-ovela.'
“From there, dire-diretso na,” said Austria.
Now a San Miguel consultant, he looked back on that event almost a decade ago as Santos' jersey No. 29 is about to be officially retired on Wednesday.
Santos was no longer with the Beermen when Austria won his ninth title with the franchise during the 2022 Philippine Cup.
But being part of San Miguel’s championship journey together with the ‘Spiderman’ is something Austria will always cherish.
Plaudits for Arwind
“I’m happy na naging part ako ng career niya,” said the champion coach.
Although Santos played his last PBA game with Northport, Austria said it was but still fitting for San Miguel to have jersey No. 29 retired.
“Masaya ako dahil ni-retire siya as a San Miguel Beerman. I think he played 17 years sa PBA, and 12 yata doon sa San Miguel. And lahat ng championship niya sa San Miguel niya nakuha,” he added.
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