By Waylon Galvez
San Miguel Beer forward Arwind Santos has made it a tradition to bond with his family during the Holy Week break.
For him, it’s best to reflect away from the madding crowd.
But this time, he opts to stay at home since the three-time defending champion SMB is in the finals again of the Philippine Cup.
“Sa bahay na lang muna kami ng family,” said Santos after attending the team’s practice session yesterday at the Acropolis gym in Quezon City. “Saka na siguro yung bakasyon namin.”
San Miguel mentor Leo Austria only gave his players a one-day rest last Monday following the team’s 92-77 victory against Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok in Game 2 of their finals showdown last Sunday at the Mall of Asia (MOA) Arena in Pasay City.
The win tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1 after the Hotshots stunned the defending champion Beermen in Game 1, 105-103. Game 3 is scheduled Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Austria isn’t concerned about the long layoff between Games 2 and 3 as he confidently mentioned how his players handle the situation, and he expects the same mentality when the series resumes.
“These players are professionals, I know they’re ready to play in Game 3 and I expect them to play with the same intensity on both ends of the court, na nagawa namin in Game 2,” said Austria.
“I’m very happy with the way the players played defense. We limited Magnolia below 40 percent shooting as compared to Game 1. On offense, we have to continue executing our plays,” added Austria.
If there is one key factor Austria sees in the long layoff is the opportunity for his players, particularly Chris Ross who is still recovering from a hip injury, to continue to improve their health.
“Malaking bagay na nakaka-pahinga,” said Austria.
