MANILA, Philippines – If there are still any doubts, a 4th-straight Philippine Cup championship is Arwind Santos’ way of proving that the San Miguel Beermen are the PBA’s best. 

The Beermen are on the verge of etching their mark as the only team in the 43 years of PBA to ever win 4 consecutive All-Filipino titles and Santos is not letting the chance slip from their grasps. 

“Ayaw mo nang sayangin ‘yung opportunity na makukuha, lalo na ‘yung history, ‘di ba, na pwede mong ikwento sa mga anak mo, sa mga nagmamahal sa’yo, sa lahat ng sumusuporta sa San Miguel, sa history ng PBA,” said Santos. 

(You do not want to waste the opportunity that you get, especially since if it making history. You cantell your kids, your loved ones and all of San Miguel’s supporters that you made PBA history.)

“Sino ba ‘yung pinaka-best? Pagka nabanggit ‘yung team tapos part ka noon, sobrang saya, sobrang sarap sa pakiramdam. ‘Yun ‘yung isa sa mga pangarap ko rin, kahit wala na kami, hindi mabubura ‘yung ginawa naming history.”

(Who is the best? When a team is called and you are part of that team, that would be a very happy moment. That is one of my dream, that even when I am gone, what we have done will never be erased from history.)

But Santos knows it will not be a walk in the park in their bid to make history. Against the stingy Magnolia Hotshots, it will be a clash of defense and offense for the ultra-talented San Miguel. 

The Hotshots emerged as the best defensive team in the league after the elimination round, allowing only 85.2 opponent points while converting an impressive 93.4 points per game (ppg). 

Magnolia carried its stifling defense into the semifinals against NLEX, limiting the Road Warriors, who averaged 92.6 points in the eliminations, to 88.2 ppg to finish the best-of-7 series in 6 games.

San Miguel, meanwhile, poured in 99 points per outing in beating Barangay Ginebra in 5 semifinals games. In those 5 games, the Beermen breached the 100-point mark 4 times, which all resulted to victories. 

Both teams finished the eliminations with identical 8-3 cards and the Beermen had to pull out all the stops to beat the Hotshots by a point, 77-76, last February 4. 

While the finals series is a best-of-7 bout, Santos does not want it to go the distance, knowing the Hotshots may gain momentum in the latter games. 

“Dapat naming pagpokusan kung paano namin mapapaikli itong series na ito kasi kung tutuusin, ayaw naming dumikit sila sa amin. Hanggat maaaring makalayo kami sa series, mas maganda.” 

(We should focus on keeping this series short because we do not want them to suprise us in the latter games. If we can make it as short as possible, the better.)

Ultimately, the former league Most Valuable Player wants the finals to be a showcase of why they are the league’s benchmark.

“Gusto ko kami kami lang ‘yung, bilang captain ball, na maipakita ko na kami talaga ‘yung best team dahil gusto ko malaman nila na bakit kami naging best team? Maraming sangkap,” said Santos.

(As the captain ball, I want to show that we are the best team and why? Because of different components.)

“Gusto ko malaman nila ‘yung mga sangkap na ‘yun. Kasi naniniwala ako na hindi kami magiging successful kung hindi kami iisa. So ‘yun ‘yung motivation ko, gusto ko maging the best kami sa lahat ng team na nakakalaban namin sa PBA.”

(I want them to know what those components are. Because I believe that we will not be successful if we are not playing as one. That is my motivation, I want to show that we are the best among all the teams we have faced here in the PBA.)

Game 1 of the finals is on Friday, March 23, at the Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com