SPIDERMAN LICKS HIS WOUNDS
Another lost season just went past Arwind Santos and the Petron Blaze Boosters as they got eliminated in the semifinals by Rain or Shine, 4-1, and the reigning league MVP no longer wants to sugarcoat everything that has happened to their campaign.
“Ganun naman lagi eh, maganda ang start namin. Pero ayoko nang pahabain yung storya. Natalo kaming magkakasama, magkakasama rin kaming babangon. Walang sisihan. Tanggapin lang namin yung nangyari.”
Petron’s hopes got dashed by the tough E-Painters in five games, and Santos was surprised with the way the conference turned out, saying, “Kahit nawala si June Mar nung eliminations, na-susutain pa rin namin yung ginagawa namin. Sa akin, ginagawa ko naman yung best ko. Di talaga namin makita kung saan kami nagkaproblema.”
“Sabi nga ng coaches, kung talent lang, mananalo kami. Pero yun ang natutunan namin sa Rain or Shine, yung mental toughness nila ang nagpapanalo sa kanila sa serye namin.”
In a conference where the Boosters saw the top and slowly fade away in the end, Santos has been a constant force as he averaged 17.1 points, 10.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.4 blocks, and a steal in the 21 games he played, good for earning a top three nod in the Best Player of the Conference race.
“Sabi ko nga, hindi yan ang first goal ko everytime tumuntong ako ng basketball court. Yung championship talaga. Yung individual awards, dumarating lang yan, at alam mo naman yung effort na binibigay mo kung deserving ka talaga o hindi.”
Despite the disappointment, the Spiderman would rather see their season in a positive light, saying, “Hindi naman ibig sabihin na natalo kami eh di ka binless ni God. Ibig sabihin nun, may kailangan pa kaming dagdagan sa team namin.”
“Malungkot ako kasi natalo kami ngayon. Pero kung ano yung dapat nating i-improve, i-improve na lang natin. Ang motivation na lang namin is babawi kami sa next conference.” (RL)
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