Santos on top of Guiao’s list for RP 5’s 12-man roster

MANILA, Philippines – Arwind Santos is on top of Yeng Guiao’s list for the final 12 players that will compose the Powerade-Team Pilipinas in the 25th FIBA-Asia Men’s Championship in Tianjin, China. Guiao said Santos’ defense and doing the little things for the team was the factors why he easily chose the 6-foot-4 forward. Santos, Guiao’s starting forward with Burger King in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), played big for the Nationals in Medan, Indonesia. “Arwind has definitely improved since joining the national team. I just told everyone at the time I am still choosing the players who will form the RP team that will be chosen to represent the country won’t also make them proud, but it would also become a big boost to their career," said Guiao. Santos’ remarkable improvement proved timely. The Whoppers will battle the Sta. Lucia Realtors in a do-or-die game for a semifinals berth in the Motolite-PBA Fiesta Cup when the tournament resumes Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. “He’s (Santos) game is peaking at the right time. He has definitely improved his game, particularly on the defensive end, which would be vital not only for the national team’s cause but also for Burger King," said Guiao, who is seeking yet another semis stint. For Guiao, the knockout game would also be a great opportunity to redeem himself since missing the Final Four the last conference – the first time it happened in a long while – as the fiery mentor is so accustomed in playing in the semifinals. After nine years with Red Bull, Guiao transferred to Burger King. His transfer is not only beneficial for Santos, but also to the Lina Group, which majority owns the franchise of the fastfood giant. The Lina Group has made it all the way to the finals of the same conference last year only to fall short against crowd favorite Barangay Ginebra, which defeated the squad then known as the Air21 Express in a grueling seven-game series. Santos has been the most consistent player for the nationals in the SEABA, offensively and defensively. He averaged 15 points per game, but it was the energy he brought at both ends of the court which caught Guiao’s fancy. “Arwind has provided the energy, which Kelly Williams could provide," said Guiao. “That’s the kind of attitude I like most about him during his stint with the RP team. I expect him to show the same kind of energy in our knockout game with Sta. Lucia." But while Guiao has seen tremendous progress in Santos’ game, he wasn’t satisfied with the performance of his gunners, who couldn’t nail their outside shots during Team Pilipinas’ four-game series in the SEABA. “We shot below 30 percent from the three-point region, which is bad. For us to be competitive in the Jones Cup and in the FIBA Asia Championship, we should hit between 35 to 40 percent and run the breaks more," ended Guiao. – GMANews.TV