MANILA, Philippines – Arwind Santos’ attempt at his forbidden Spider-Man dunk did not quite go as planned.

Santos blew what could have been an emphatic slam as he lost grip of the ball during a solo fastbreak in the 3rd quarter of Game 2 of the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals clash between San Miguel and Phoenix. 

The iconic Spider-Man dunk – which has Santos tapping both of his feet on the backboard – has been banned by the PBA since the start of the season and it was just not meant to be this time. 

Arwind libre sa fastbreak, mintis! Jazul nagmadali sa kabila, Chua pumukol ng jumper!#PBASemis#PBALabanKungLaban pic.twitter.com/3yutMsvX3J

— PBA (@pbaconnect) April 15, 2019

“Dapat nga Spider-Man dunk pero parang ayaw ipagawa eh. May pumigil eh. Biglang parang dumikit ‘yung isang paa ko kaya nag-alanganin ako tumalon kanina,” Santos said. 

(I was supposed to pull off the Spider-Man dunk but it felt like there was something preventing me from doing it. It felt like my shoe stuck to the floor so I hesitated to jump.)

“Natawa rin ako noong huli. Sabi nga ng mga kasama ko, ‘Anong nangyari?’ ‘Hindi, dumikit ‘yung sapatos ko.’ Parang na-bad trip nga ako kanina. Pero wala na ‘yun, at least nanalo kami.” 

(I just laughed it off. My teammates asked me what happened and I told them my shoe stuck to the floor. I was annoyed earlier but that’s behind me, at least we won.)

Arwind Santos tries to attempt his forbidden Spider-Man dunk but falls short badly in San Miguel’s 92-82 Game 2 semis win over Phoenix. Here is his explanation of what happened. #PBA2019 | @dioquinodelfin pic.twitter.com/HRFRYpcQAh

— Rappler Sports (@RapplerSports) April 15, 2019

Santos provided decent contributions of 7 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals as the Beermen erased the Fuel Masters’ double-digit lead en route to a 92-82 win on Monday, April 15. 

The win pushed San Miguel’s lead in the best-of-seven series to 2-0 and Santos wants his side to drag Phoenix to the brink of elimination the next time they meet. 

“Mahirap kapag binigyan namin sila ng isang panalo. Kami, ang gusto namin idire-diretso,” he said. 

(It’s hard if we allow them to win one. What we want is to continue winning.) 

“Naniniwala naman kami sa bawat isa. Ang maganda rito, alam namin na kaya namin sila. Wag lang kami magre-relax.”

(We believe in each other and we believe that we can defeat them. We just can’t afford to relax.)

Santos and company will enjoy a few days of rest due to the Holy Week break before Game 3 on Sunday, April 21, at the Araneta Coliseum. – Rappler.com