CEBU, Philippines - Throughout his career, he is used to winning championships in the most special way.
His most recent triumph with San Miguel Beermen in the PBA is certainly one of them.
But more than cementing his superstar status and adding another award to his treasure vault, what makes Arwind Santos the happiest and proudest player is the fact that they were able to bring back smile to the faces of diehard San Miguel fans across the country.
"Napaka-espesyal na panalo ito dahil na-ibalik namin yung ngiti sa mukha ng San Miguel fans sa buong bansa. Ilang taon na rin ang lumipas na hindi kami nanalo ng all-Filipino title kaya napakasarap isipin na nabigyan uli namin ng kasiyahan ang aming fans," said Santos in an exclusive interview at Cebu City Marriott Hotel.
Santos stole the thunder when the Beermen came through an 80-78 thriller over the Alaska Aces in the deciding match of their epic best-of-seven finals showdown to clinch the PBA Philippine Cup championship a week ago at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. It was San Miguel's first all-Filipino Cup crown since 2001 and 20th title overall, the most in the league.
The pride of Angeles City, Pampanga humbly admitted that it was a tough, roller-coaster ride for them in the entire series. They bungled three games on monumental endgame collapse, even losing as much as 23 points lead in Game 7 although they were able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the end.
And for that, the 33-year-old Santos said they all felt vindicated.
"Sa lahat ng aming kapalpakan, kahit papaano may napatunayan kami," said Santos, adding that their gut-wrenching defeat in Game 6 drove him to came up with a breakout performance in what is perhaps the biggest playing stage of his career.
"Nung natalo kami sa Game 6, sinabi ko sa sarili ko na eto na, 'no tomorrow' na ito 'ika nga. Hindi kana dapat magkamali dala pag may mali ka, hindi muna puwede itama," he said. "Kaya iyon sa Game 7 ibinuhos ko na ang lahat. Kahit pagod na ako, hindi ko ipinapakita sa kasamahan ko. Ginawa ko talaga lahat ng aking makakaya para naman kung sakaling natalo kami, at least ibinigay ko ang lahat."
True enough, Santos knocked in what is by far the biggest 3-point shot of his life when the game was on the line, lifting the Beermen to a dramatic win that reverberated in the hearts of diehard San Miguel fans on both corners of the archipelago.
The Beermen squandered a huge 48-25 lead in the first half, allowing the Aces to stage a daring comeback and even move ahead, 70-68. But Santos bravely came to San Miguel's rescue, hitting a crucial trey that gave the lead back to his team, 79-78, with 43.7 seconds left to play.
When asked about that 3-point dagger that was the turning point of their victory, Santos offered a quite interesting answer. "God is good. Yung huling bitaw ko ng tres, kamay yun Diyos, hindi ako ang gumawa nun," said Santos, who grabbed the Finals MVP trophy with a spectacular series average of 18.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals.
Santos said their all-Filipino Cup triumph surely boosted their morale and jacked up their confidence level going into the import-laced Commissioner's Cup.
"Seguradong madadala namin yung confidence at happiness sa susunod na conference. Pero huwag lang sana ilagay sa ulo ang aming pagkapanalo kasi hindi na kami mag-improve pa kung ganun. Napakaganda ng samahan namin as team at sana, kahit isang level lang, ma-improve pa namin ang aming laro sa Commissioner's Cup," said Santos.
In the meantime, Santos is enjoying the moment of achieving something that is not for himself nor for their team, but for their fans. (FREEMAN)