Santos shows MVP grace under pressure

MANILA, Philippines – In the heat of the best-of-seven finals series between the Petron Blaze Boosters and the San Mig Coffee Mixers for the season-ending Governors’ Cup, Petron’s Arwind Santos received a trophy that was light enough to be carried in his hands.

But as Santos delivered his emotional speech, he must have realized how truly heavy that trophy was for it signified Santos’ achievement in three arduous conferences in the 2012-2013 PBA season.

As Most Valuable Player, there’s no room for excuses. Santos is expected to carry his team to a championship.

But for six games of this finals series, Santos had been struggling.

After starting in Game One with 16 points, Santos has slumped. In Game Two, Santos was just like an ordinary cager with four points, one rebound and six errors.

Petron won Game Three, but Santos garnered non-MVP numbers of 10 points and three boards.

Game 4 was more disheartening.

A couple of hours after receiving his first MVP plum since entering the PBA in 2006, fans cringed as Santos made a bad pass off the bound that sent PJ Simon to the line.

Irony played its role. Santos was suddenly put to a test worthy of an MVP.

“Nagkataon lang,” Santos said of his Finals performance in the wake of being crowned MVP. “Natapat lang na hindi maganda naging performance ko.”

Salvation still did not come for Santos in Game 5 as Petron lost for the second straight time to give the Mixers a 3-2 series lead. Santos produced his lowest output with two points and four rebounds in just 18 minutes of play.

It felt like one has entered a nightmare after a very nice dream. Fortunately for Santos sleep had not eluded him for the past weekend thanks to the support he had been receiving from his family.

“Nakatulog ako dahil sa suporta ng asawa ko, ng mga anak ko, mama ko tsaka mga kaibigan ko,” he said after surviving a do-or-die Game 6 to forge the deciding Game 7.

“Natutuwa ako. Doon ko nakita na hindi talaga ko nag-iisa. Sobrang dami pala nagmamahal sa akin.”

A more respectable performance befell him in Game 6 with 12 points, six rebounds, and six dimes.

His optimism, it seems, is the fuel he needs to break out of this slump.

“Iisipin ko lang yung magagandang bagay na binibigay sa akin ng Diyos,” Santos said. “Doon ako pumupunta, hindi sa pangit na side. Pumupunta ako sa magagandang bagay, sa mga blessings, sa kung saan ako mapapabuti.”

Long after they won Game 6, Santos had a visible lighter aura to him. He frequented the cross by the dugout to say silent prayers, with a smile becoming a fixture on his face. He may not have been the leading scorer, he may not have been explosive, but he was definitely better than last time.

The pressure is still present, Santos admitted, but he is showing the poise that is expected of him.

“Oo naman. Kailangan rin natin mag-contribute kasi alam naman natin kung ano kakayahan natin,” he said, adding that his main objective is really to defend at all costs and limit if not completely stop San Mig’s import.

The team’s primary focus as well is not to underestimate an equally gritty Mixers team.

“Hindi namin iniisip yung advantage namin. Kasi kung iniisip namin na ganoon, baka maging overconfident pa kami. Iniisip namin na sabayan sila umpisa hanggang dulo.”

Game 7 is tonight at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. Whether Santos stands tall with his MVP trophy on one hand and the championship trophy on the other, or he puts on a brave face for the Petroniverse in the middle of a Mixers celebration, there’s no stopping him from coming back better season after season.

“Hindi doon natatapos. Gusto ko ipakita hangga’t malakas ako, hangga’t malakas tayong mga tao. Hangga’t kaya natin gawin walang imposible, basta gugustuhin natin.”

For Santos, achieving the highest individual award will never be enough if he can’t inspire others. After all, the MVP plum is not the premier goal he has set for himself.

“Maging isang magandang role model sa PBA. Syempre yung ma-sustain mo. Hindi maging kuntento kahit nakuha mo na,” he explained his ultimate ambition in the PBA.

“Hindi lumaki ang ulo mo, malaking bagay yun. Alam naman natin maraming nanonood, maraming tumitingin lalo na yung mga kabataan. So gusto ko maging maganda akong halimbawa sa istorya ng PBA.”

Santos is bearing the weight of the pressure to be consistent, to put up impressive numbers, to be the leader and even the savior of his team. But he has proven that he can and will exhibit poise amid the pressure. He also has a bottomless well of grace and humility both in losing and in winning.

That grace, more than anything, is what makes a true MVP. If there is anyone at all in the league right now fit to carry the weight of an MVP trophy, it’s Arwind Santos. – Rappler.com