San Miguel, Arwind Santos stops Ginebra to book Philippine Cup Finals ticket

San Miguel, Arwind Santos stops Ginebra to book Philippine Cup Finals ticket

by rick olivares with pic by tunying p.

It was an equivalent of a goal-line stand. The San Miguel Beermen, held on to a precarious 87-85 lead, triple-teamed Eric Menk as he made his way inside the lane and as in the case of most of their victories over Ginebra San Miguel this PBA Philippine Cup, wound up with a key defensive stop.

With only 15.9 seconds left, Mark Caguioa gave the ball to Menk who in his team’s previous possession scored on a three-point play to tie the match. Although Beerman Jay Washington found manna from heaven after he converted on a reverse layup following a Danny Ildefonso airball, Ginebra was in a position to forge overtime or even go ahead.

But what the crowd favorites did not know is that the San Miguel coaching staff was confident of pulling out another rabbit or in the case of Arwind Santos – another stop. Santos wrenched the ball away from Menk who fouled him in return. The lanky forward converted one of two free throws for an 89-86 win as Ginebra missed one last three-point attempt.

For the third time in eight meetings this season, Santos stopped Ginebra cold in a crucial endgame possession. In their first two meetings of the season both in the eliminations, Santos hounded Willie Miller into turnovers. This time, he not only came with four points in the clutch including a triple with 8:11 left to play for a 74-73 SMB lead.

“Swerte rin na meron kaming dalawang player na clutch sa magkabilang court,” glowed winning head coach Ato Agustin outside the team dugout. “Si Alex (Cabagnot) sa opensa na nakapagbitaw ng three-point shot (for an 85-82 lead) at si Arwind na nakakakuha ulit ng stop sa Ginebra.”

San Miguel’s victory gave Agustin his first crack at a PBA title in his very first attempt and he made no bones about his giddiness. “Nasa finals kami!” he blurted out as Jay Washington and Cabagnot chorused their happiness. Agustin has been on an incredible finals streak. While coaching San Sebastian College, he won the NCAA Season 85 title, the CHED Games, the PBL PG-Flex Erase Placenta Cup Cup, and the Fil Oil Invitational Cup. His San Sebastian team also made the NCAA Season 86 finals where they were unable to defend their title against the San Beda Red Lions who made history by going 18-0 for the entire season.

“Para na siyang championship pero hindi pa tapos,” Agustin added as he tempered any excessive celebration as they had to face a tough and fast Talk ‘N Text team.

“Oh, I got plenty left for Talk ‘N Text,” chimed in Washington who looked forward to playing his first PBA club. After being selected number overall in the 2005 PBA Draft by Air21 who immediately traded him to TNT, Washington struggled to find his niche within the team. He was traded away three years later for the draft rights to Jason Castro who has wreaked havoc on opposing teams with his blazing speed and ability to get inside the lane for layups or dime drops.

Ginebra seemed close to forging a Game 7 as spitfire Ronald Tubid’s third quarter pyrotechnics spurred the Kings to life just when the Beermen seemed to grab momentum. The seventh year pro player out of the University of the East had an incandescent four minutes and 20 seconds where he erupted for 12 points while playing great defense on Sunday Salvacion and Santos.

But when Mike Cortez (10 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals) went out with cramps in the fourth quarter and Willie Miller suffered through a miserable shooting night (1-8 field goals), the taller Beermen made some great defensive stops in crunchtime.

After the game, the Beermen consoled former teammates Rico Villanueva (7 points and 8 rebounds), Willy Wilson (2 points), and Cortez. “It’s tough, man,” said Washington. “But you have to look beyond them being your former teammates. You have to do what you have to do. They’ll get their chance for sure. They’re a good team.”

San Miguel 89 -- Santos 25, Hontiveros 17, Washington 12, Cabagnot 11, Seigle 8, Artadi 6, Ildefonso 4, Racela 3, Peña 3, Salvacion 0, Pennisi 0

Ginebra 86 – Caguioa 21, Tubid 19, Hatfield 12, Menk 11, Cortez 10, Villanueva 7, Intal 2, Wilson W. 2, Miller 2, Wilson J. 0, Aquino 0