PBA: Arwind on SMB loss to Kia: 'Parang pinahalik kami sa lupa'

 

After San Miguel Beer fell in an upset to Kia, 88-78, in the Beermen's first game since winning the Philippine Cup, Arwind Santos had to admit they were still suffering from a hangover from their recent title conquest.

 

"Oo naman, 'di maipagkakaila meron talaga," Santos told reporters after their sorry loss to a team at the bottom of the standings last conference. "Para sa amin parang pinahalik kami sa lupa."

 

The loss came shortly after the team survived a grueling seven-game finals series against Alaska to win their first All-Filipino trophy since 2001, establishing themselves once again as the best team in the league.

 

In their first game in the Philippine Cup, the Beermen led briefly in the first quarter 10-9, but the Carnival slowly pulled away with import Peter John Ramos dominating the paint and opening up the floor for shooters, giving Kia a 46-35 cushion at the half.

 

San Miguel tightened its defense in the fourth quarters to close the gap 69-67, but their fouls came back to haunt them as defender Ronald Tubid and top center June Mar Fajardo fouled out.

 

Ramos also had to sit on the bench with a good 4:37 minutes to go after committing his sixth foul, but the Beermen could not capitalize on his absence as Kia brought the lead back to double digits en route to the victory.

 

Santos, however, was grateful that they were dealt with a reality check very early on in the conference.

 

"Mas maganda nang maagang nangyari at least hindi sa huli nangyari. Kasi aminado naman kami na laht kami masama ang laro," said the Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player, who finished with 14 points and a poor 7-of-23 shooting from the field.

 

San Miguel took more shots with 33-of-89 field goals compared to Kia's 28-of-63, but they struggled from the three-point arc with an atrocious 1-of-24 clip while the Carnival rained treys with 7-of-15.

 

Kia also got a huge boost from their 25-of-37 clip in the charity stripe, while San Miguel only had 11-of-20 free throws. With the threat of 7-foot-4 Ramos in the post, San Miguel had no choice but to foul and send him to the line.

 

Despite losing their first game in action for the Commissioner's Cup, Santos remains confident that they will be able to bounce back soon as they get their rhythm back.

 

"Umpisa pa lang, isang talo palang," he said. "Wag namin kalimutan kung saan kami nanggaling." — JST, GMA News