Arwind Santos stepped up once again for the San Miguel Beermen.
With his team down by 15 in the first half, Beermen coach Leo Austria turned to his tried-and-tested veteran forward who rose to the challenge.
“The Spiderman” finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals off the bench in Game Five for the Beermen who took a 3-2 series lead against TNT KaTropa and came within reach of capturing the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown.
“Step up lang. Nalamangan na naman kami ng 15 points matapos yung second quarter. Nangyari na yan before nung nag-17-0 then pinasok niya ako. Eager na eager akong mag-contribute kasi nga walang nangyayari sa isang group namin. Presence of mind na lang yung nangyari,” Santos said.
But the former PBA MVP said that he doesn’t want the Beermen to always play catch-up against TNT.
“Ako naman hindi ko sinasabing gusto ko yung namgyari. Ako naman sa mga ganung sitwasyon, kapag maglalaro, pipilitin kong mag-ambag talaga. Kahit paano naging maganda contribution ko, nakadikit kami hanggang matapos yung laro.
“Kailangan lang talaga i-start namin ng maganda hindi pwedeng nalalamangan agad kami. Hangga’t maari kami makalayo.”
The Beermen can close out the series in Game Six on Sunday, but Santos knows that it will not be easy against a KaTropa squad that is eyeing to force a deciding Game Seven.
“Alam namin pwede kunin pero hindi ka pwedeng dumiretso talaga sa taas,” Santos said. “Kailangan pa rin namin kuhain mula sa baba pataas.”
