Santos plays hero as San Miguel noses out Barako Bull

LANKY forward Arwind Santos snatched San Miguel from the jaws of defeat when he completed a put-back with less than a second left that carried the Beermen to a pulsating 106-105 win over the Barako Bull Energy yesterday in the 41st PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

Barako Bull got so close to completing a huge upset against the defending champions as RR Garcia sank a booming triple that put the Energy on top, 105-104, with 10 seconds left.

In the next play, Marcio Lassiter had a clear look at the basket but his jumper from the left elbow hit nothing but the backboard. In the rebounding battle, Santos turned garbage into gold when he picked up a loose ball and hurriedly took a shot that went in with sixth-tenths of a second left.

Garcia then missed a forced three-point shot in the game’s final possession, allowing the Beermen to escape and move up to solo number-one spot in the team standings with their fifth win in six games.

Santos had 15 markers, 10 of them he made in the final two quarters.

Cebuano big man June Mar Fajardo had another solid performance after he piled up 28 points and 20 rebounds. The back-to-back MVP winner from Pinamungajan town, Cebu shot 11-for-17 from the field.

Barako Bull still ended up absorbing its third loss in six games despite their hot three-point shooting.

The Energy canned a league-most 11 three-pointers in the first half alone. They went on to finish with 17 triples, the second most trifectas made in franchise history.

Josh Urbiztondo, who dropped five triples, led Barako Bull with 19 points. Willy Wilson added 18 markers and 11 rebounds.

Meanwhile, the Barangay Ginebra Kings recorded their first winning streak in the tournament after they downed the Mahindra Enforcers, 80-76.

Following up their 89-64 win over the Meralco Bolts last Tuesday, the Kings improved to 3-3, while the Enforcers absorbed their fourth straight defeat to drop to 1-4.