Multi-titled Arwind Santos seeks to add MPBL championship to collection

MANILA, Philippines – Arwind Santos is eyeing to add another championship under his belt, this time in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).

Santos, who has won numerous titles in the UAAP, the PBL and the PBA, is aiming to add another trophy to his case with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns.

The 42-year-old forward is a late addition to the team, and he is already off to the finals, where Pampanga will face the Bacoor City Strikers.

“I do not feel any pressure or fear [here in the MPBL]. In fact, I am very thankful of what I had accomplished in my life, my career and even my achievements that I received,” Santos told reporters in Filipino during the MPBL finals press conference at a Makati restaurant Wednesday morning.

“But for me, I have history in the PBA, the UAAP and the PBL. And, they are all different. But, I do not have a history with the MPBL yet,” he added.

“That is what I want to achieve in the final chapter of my career.”

Pampanga is easily a powerhouse in the MPBL, headed by young guns Justine Baltazar, Encho Serrano, John Lloyd Clemente and Santos.

Bacoor, meanwhile, is headlined by Santos’ former PBA teammate Mark Yee, James Kwekuteye, Jhan Nermal and Jammer Jamito.

The finals will start on Saturday, November 25.

Santos said that he is blessed to be in a team that does not really need him to win a championship.

“I am really blessed to have this chance, because not a lot of players could have this opportunity. And, I am given an opportunity to join a team like Pampanga Lanterns that, in fact, even without me, could win a championship,” said the former PBA Most Valuable Player.

“I can say that the team is like a sniper, a deadly weapon. I am just added as an additional material, like a scope. I am like the scope that would point out how to defeat the opponent.”