ARWIND Santos felt it was simply not his night – again – on Friday when San Miguel Beer went on the verge of getting dethroned in the PBA Philippine Cup.
After taking less shots in the first two games, the SMB star made a conscious effort to be more aggressive in Game Three, where he took 17 shots, but still missed 14 for an unacceptable 17.7-percent shooting, including a 2-of-11 clip from beyond the arc.
“Nakapag-ensayo naman kami dito. Kung titingnan mo yung shots ko, diretso eh. Minsan talaga ganung nangyayari,” Santos said after Alaska's 82-75 win. “Nandun naman 'yung puso ko para i-attempt yung tira. Pero hindi lang nagco-connect talaga.”
“Tira ko talaga 'yun,” he added. “Mas maganda na tinira ko kaysa na-turnover.”
The former league MVP still committed six turnovers, although he did finish with nine points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and one assist in 31 minutes.
Santos said it was not only him that was missing their usual shots as Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter failed to reach double digits in scoring as the team shot 40 percent as a unit.
“Andun naman yung play namin at pina-practice ko rin naman 'yun, kaya lang kung titingnan mo, hindi lang naman yung tira ko kundi sa karamihan,” Santos said. “May mga basket kami na malalapit na hindi namin ma-connect.”
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Santos also couldn’t help but criticize the officiating.
“Tapos foul hindi tinatawag,” he said. “Kaya nakakainis eh, parang hindi maganda yung tawag para sa amin.”
Still, the former league MVP remained defiant and confident the Beermen can at least extend the series.
“May isa pa kaming buhay natitira. Hindi pa naman tapos,” Santos said. “Kahit maliit na lang 'yung tsansa, at least nandun pa rin yung salitang ‘tsansa’.”
“Malalaman kung nandun pa yung puso namin sa sunod na laro.”