Amazing Arwind

The Pinoy Spiderman
(Photo credit: Inquirer.net)

When it is all said and done, the San Miguel Beermen’s do-it-all forward and former PBA MVP Arwind Santos will undoubtedly go down as one of the best ever.

Is he a small forward? But he rebounds the basketball and often makes his best defensive stops around the paint. Is he a power forward? But he shoots threes, runs the floor and isn’t exactly built like a stocky one as per Filipino traditions.

Having been a Beerman since 2009 after being drafted by Air21 in 2006, Santos has helped the team win multiple championships. The 6”4 forward gifted with a pterodactyl-like wingspan is a career 13 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover in 32 minutes guy, which is a lot better than it looks if you consider the fact that those are his numbers on a yearly basis, not just on average. Hell, his numbers probably would have been a lot higher had he stayed on a so-so team like Air21.
In spite of his efforts though, Santos is often the most critiqued Beerman by the team’s own fans even!

Some argue that he doesn’t play hard enough; that’s totally subjective. Specially if you check the statsheets. Some say that he’s stat-padding, but if he were, with all the different coaches that he’s played for as a Beerman, someone would’ve called him out for it. Also, they probably wouldn’t have made it to several PBA Finals right?

Some just hate the fact that he’s jacking up threes.

That argument is valid, since Santos is a career 27% shooter from deep. But what else would you have him do? He doesn’t have the handles, post-up game and or go-to-move. Shooting from the outside would allow him to space the floor for the Beermen’s resident star, 3x PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo, while also giving him the needed momentum/ space to chase rebounds.

Honestly, we would love it more if Santos played closer to the hoop but it’s not like he’s built for the heavy banging and pushing down low.

Still, Santos’ on-court efficiency at both ends of the court allows Coach Leo Austria to continue to trust him with heavy minutes. His numbers are back after slowing down in last season’s 2nd conference and taking time off in the 3rd, which means that he’s not about to give his spot to his younger teammates without a fight.

Sometimes when you do something for so long that it almost becomes a habit, people often mistake it for mediocrity and malaise. That is what I think Santos suffers from—from fans that have been spoiled by his efforts.

Let’s all take a step back and appreciate just how truly “Amazing” our “Pinoy Spiderman” is.