Bond with former SMB teammates, coaches remain intact, says Arwind Santos

The friendship remains.

After being traded to NorthPort last November, Arwind Santos said that there was nothing gone in his relationship with his San Miguel teammates and coaches.

Santos and his former team faced each other on Sunday for the first time after the one-for-one exchange between the 6-foot-4 former Most Valuable Player and Vic Manuel.

As per Austria, he was able to meet and chat with Santos at the holding area outside the Ynares Sports Arena for their antigen test before entering the venue.

“It’s fun,” said Austria. “Wala namang nawala sa relationship namin. Nothing unusual. Ang nangyari lang, sabi nga ni Arwind, ‘Iba lang ang uniform ko ngayon.”

Despite a tough 91-88 loss against the Beermen, Santos showed that he has plenty of gas left in the tank after scattering 23 points and 11 rebounds in his first game against his former squad.

Nothing has changed

Now that he stars for NorthPort in the 2021 Governor’s Cup, Santos admitted that he still felt the bond with his former squad after being a San Miguel standout for more than a decade.

“Nandoon pa rin. Hindi mo maiwasan ‘yung samahan talaga eh na parang regular na nandoon ka pa rin na hindi ka napunta sa ibang team,” said Santos.

“Biniro pa nga ako ng teammate ko na si Paul Zamar na, ‘Thank you, Kuya Arwind.’ [Sabi ko] kung nai-shoot ‘yung mga tira nila Bolick, kung overtime, baka natalo kayo sana.”

But for Santos, his commitment to lead a team now goes to Northport. The veteran player was part of the squad that sparked the Batang Pier’s comeback in the second half.

He even blocked a shot by his co-starting player in SMB, June Mar Fajardo – a promise that he made before the face off.

“Nangyari [‘yung block] kaso tinawagan ako ng foul. Sayang. Aasarin ko sana. Kaya lang, hindi ko maasar kasi may foul. Alam naman ni June Mar ‘yun,” said Santos.

San Miguel led wire-to-wire, leading 26-9 after the first frame, and were up by as much as 27 points in the third quarter. But NorthPort outscored the Beermen the rest of the way, but its second-half rally was not enough as the Batang Pier succumed to their third straight loss in the eliminations.

“All-in-all, ganun talaga, hindi pa rin maganda dahil nasa NorthPort na ako, tatlong sunod na talo na kami. Ang goal namin, maka-top eight, okay na kami.”

“Nasa finish line na kami, malapit na, nakakalimutan naming tapusin. Parang naliligaw kami. Isang hakbang na lang. Puro ganun ang mga talo namin. Sana derecho at focus kami sa finish line sa mga susunod na laro namin,” Santos explained.