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| Santos vs Williams: who's better? |
Drafted 1 and 2 in 2006, the former PBL teammates' and kumpares (Williams' is one of Santos' kids' godfather) paths have crossed several times the last five-six years be it in the Finals or even for individual accolades. Prior to being traded to the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters, Williams had the benefit of playing for a veteran team that was a piece away from being a legit contender- the now defunct Santa Lucia Realtors built around Twin Towers Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino.
True enough, Williams' all-around exploits complemented the Realtors' style so much that he was able to put in the numbers and shine as its' work-horse superstar.
On the flipside, Santos went to the Air21 Express. A team that was bent on rotating all of its players during games, players' rhythms be damned, and preached a free, "do whatever the hell you want" style on offense and defense. The numbers were there, given Santos' talent and high basketball IQ on both ends of the floor, but there was no way he could lift a relatively young squad to the next round.
Long story short, Williams' team went to contend which helped his case for both Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards, while Santos was relegated to the "bridesmaid"-- always just a stat, win or two behind the Detroit native.
Fast forward to 2012 and the two are at it again, this time with Santos at the forefront of the Petron Blaze Boosters' camp and Williams with TNT. And, while Santos continues to shine as a beast on both ends-particularly on defense as a lockdown player and ace rebounder, Williams' has had some bouts with inconsistencies.
It's not Williams' fault, owing to TNT's guard-oriented attack, but his lack of basic basketball skills continues to hurt his chances of putting up the usual "Machine Gun" (another one of the PBA's lamer monickers) double-double norms (it's easier to be productive in set offenses rather than a frenetic-paced one). Also, the last two years after battling a rare blood disease, Williams appears to be heavier and slower as compared to his MVP days.
Also, there are two things still missing in Williams game that are often masked by his other-worldly athleticism and hustle: dribbling and shooting. Still throwing up shot-put like, high arching shots that are painful to watch and still not having that go-to dribble drive move that he's tried so many times to execute during games (40% he succeeds, 60% he dribbles off his foot).
Santos on the other hand, seems to have it all. The flat-footed free throws are ugly. But they go in. The high arching threes too. He rebounds like a beast despite being 3-4 inches shorter than chief rival Williams. He plays defense and can stay in front of guards and even bang with big, burly forwards. He times his blocks better than anyone else in the PBA. The only thing that you can really call Santos out for is when he gets too trigger happy from deep (which he has toned down a lot under Petron coach Ato Agustin) but other than that, the man is playing at an all time high and is a lock for Best Player of the Conference.
Today, honestly, Santos is proving to be not only the better basketball player (true Pinoy basketball fans would agree and attest to this for years now) but also the better athlete (given Williams' health issues).
All that's left now is to watch which player helps his team the most, numbers-aside.
