MANILA, Philippines – Arwind Santos proved on Sunday that the can still play at an MVP-level when needed, as he helped the San Miguel Beermen to an impressive 94-78 win over the Magnolia Hotshots in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup.

In their first game without June Mar Fajardo, the Beermen showcased their depth and talent in clobbering the Hotshots. They led by as much as 23 points in the game, and saw five players reach double-digits in scoring.

Santos was superb, putting up 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting, along with 15 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists, and a block. His three-pointer with 65 seconds left put the finishing touches on the victory.

"Medyo napagod pa nga ako kanina," he said after the game. "Sa totoo lang, hindi pa kami masyadong in shape, pero maganda, nanalo na kami."

"At saka, nakita ko sa game na ito, meron pa kaming kailangan i-improve, marami pa. Dahil kanina naka-dikit pa sila eh. Alam naman namin na ang ibang team, sobrang malakas pa. First game lang 'to. Siguro, wala pa 'to," he added.

Santos is optimistic that he can sustain this level of performance for San Miguel, even at age 38.

He was the last player to win the PBA's Most Valuable Player award before Fajardo reeled off a run of sixth straight MVP wins, and the veteran said he will use that as motivation to keep putting up strong games for the Beermen.

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"Pwede ko siyang i-take na challenge para sa sarili ko, para at least i-push ko 'yung sarili ko," said Santos, who won the MVP trophy in 2013.

"Hindi ko man makuha 'yun pero at least, nakakapag-contribute ako sa team namin. Nagiging positive siya," he added. "Gagawin ko siya na… kagaya ng pamilya ko, okay, targetin mo kaya. Baka may chance pa."

"Sinabi nga nila, ako 'yung huling nag-MVP bago si June Mar, dire-diretso. So subukan ko, at least namo-motivate ako. Nagiging positive siya sa akin, kaya maganda na rin 'yun."

San Miguel head coach Leo Austria was not surprised to see Santos shine, noting that the veteran had been stepping up in practice for the past two weeks. He felt that Santos was partly motivated by his suspension in last season's Governors' Cup for an incident in practice that also involved former import Dez Wells, Ronald Tubid, and Kelly Nabong.

"He wanted to get back, to bawi dun sa mga what happened to us," said Austria.

But Santos insisted that he has moved past that incident, which made him unavailable for the Beermen's brief playoff run.

"Kinalimutan ko na 'yun. Tapos na 'yun dahil ano lang naman 'yun eh, natural lang na dumadaan sa player 'yung mga ganoong pagsubok. Kinalimutan ko na 'yun," he stressed.

More than his own performance, Santos' concern is making sure that the Beermen can build on their season-opening win.

"Magandang start 'yun para sa amin, dahil nakapagtanim kami ng magandang buto. Sana, dire-diretso ''yung magandang tubo neto," he said.

"Ayun nga, sana sunod-sunod 'yung panalo namin. Alam namin na hindi ganoon kadali 'yun."

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