Santos, San Miguel hold off NorthPort for 2nd straight win

The San Miguel Beermen captured their second straight win in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup after taking down the NorthPort Batang Pier, 88-86, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig on Sunday, July 25.

Arwind Santos hit the game-winning jumper with less than four seconds remaining to help the Beermen climb up to 2-1 in the standings and spoil the much-awaited debut of Greg Slaughter in a NorthPort uniform.

“From the start, I knew this would become a tough game for us because of the presence of Greg Slaughter,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.

“But the team really wanted to win, especially Arwind.”

“Congrats Arwind for your winning shot, that’s what I was expecting from him,” added Austria.

After leading by only 7 points, 52-45, at the start of the second half, the Beermen caught fire in the third period and extended their lead to as many as 16 points, 79-63.

However, the gutsy Batang Pier managed to cut the huge deficit in the final frame and tie the ball game at 86-all with seven seconds remaining off a Robert Bolick free throw.

But Santos had other things in mind as he calmly sank the game-winning shot to seal the victory for the Beermen.

CJ Perez topscored for the Beermen with 18 points along with 8 rebounds, while Santos and Alex Cabagnot chipped in 17 and 16 points, respectively.

Slaughter, who missed NorthPort’s first two outings, finished with a huge double-double of 23 points and 17 rebounds, while Bolick had 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists for the Batang Pier, who moved down to 1-2 in the standings.