By Jonas Terrado
Reaching the 10,000-point club this season is something to look forward to for San Miguel Beer’s Arwind Santos even as he tries to bounce back from the lowest offensive production of his PBA career.
San Miguel Beer’s Arwind Santos shoots over Magnolia’s Paul Lee during their PBA Philippine Cup game last March 8 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. (PBA Images)
An unofficial count revealed that Santos currently has 9,334 career points after scoring 18 in the Beermen’s 94-78 win over the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok last March 8, a game that came before the Philippine Cup was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Once action resumes, Santos will have to regain his old offensive form in order to get a chance before the end of the season to reach the milestone already achieved by 15 local players and one import.
Santos averaged just 9.4 points in 58 games during the 2019 campaign, the first time the 2013 Most Valuable Player failed to score double figures in a season since being drafted second overall by Air21 in 2006.
He also scored 547 points which is also a career-low. Santos has never scored less than 600 points in a season prior to 2019.
But the injury sustained by June Mar Fajardo during the preseason could open the door for Santos to get himself more involved on offense as SMB showed against Magnolia a different dimension by relying on perimeter scoring.
Atoy Co, Ramon Fernandez, Bogs Adornado, Francis Arnaiz, Philip Cezar, Abet Guidaben, Robert Jaworski, Allan Caidic, Alvin Patrimonio, Jojo Lastimosa, Nelson Asaytono, Benjie Paras, Jerry Codinera, James Yap and Mark Caguioa are the current members of the 10,000-point club.
Only Fernandez (18,996), Guidaben (15,775) and Patrimonio (15,091) have scored more than 15,000 points in their careers.
Caguioa was the last player to join the club, reaching the mark during Ginebra’s 106-92 win over NLEX on Oct. 6, 2018 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Current Meralco coach Norman Black is the only foreign player to join the list after compiling 11,329 points during stints with Tefilin, Great Taste, Alaska and San Miguel Beer.
Arwind Santos of San Miguel Beer blocks a shot by Jackson Corpuz of Columbian Dyip during their PBA Philippine Cup on Jan. 18, 2019 at the Cuneta Astrodome. (PBA Images)
Once he hits the five-digit mark, Santos will also be part of a rare company as one of six players to score 10,000 points and 800 blocks in a career.
Santos has compiled 852 blocks, currently ranked sixth all-time in blocks behind Fernandez (1,853), Cezar (1,370), Paras (1,333), Codinera (1,221), Marlou Aquino (1,131) and Guidaben (922).
Fernandez, Guidaben, Cezar (12,077 points), Codinera (10,868) and Paras (10,367) are the only players to have reached the 10,000-point/8,000-block plateau.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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