Photo credit: PBA IMAGES / PBA.ph
37-year-old San Miguel forward Arwind Santos reacts to his inclusion in Gilas Pilipinas 20-man pool for the fifth window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Asian Qualifiers.
As per ESPN5, Santos said he is accepting the challenge in trying to earn a spot in the final 12 of the Philippine national basketball team.
"Of course, I'm happy to be selected to the pool by coach Yeng (Guiao), who is my godfather. This is a great opportunity to play for the national team again, We know that Filipinos are known for their big, fighting heart. It's still 'puso', that's the no. 1 battle cry, and for me, I'll fight for my spot because this is a rare chance for me to represent the country again so I will give my very best," Santos told Richard Dy of ESPN5.
Santos last played for the national team during the 2009 FIBA Asia Men's Championship in Tianjin, China as part of the Powerade Team Pilipinas handled by Guiao.
"Para sa akin, panibagong challenge ito dahil ang tagal ko ring di nakapaglaro sa Philippine team, Sakto naman kahit papaano, nagpapahinga na kami. Makakapag-focus naman ako (para) sa Pilipinas. Andito na nga ako kaya salamat kay coach Yeng. Sana hindi siya magkamali sa pagpili sa akin." Santos told Gerry Ramos of SPIN.ph.
Guiao on the inclusion of LA Tenorio and Arwind Santos: They’ve just been playing well the past few games. LA has also played for gilas before so we’d like to see LA in practice and how he blends together with the team, the same way with Arwind | @PaulineVerzosa
— Sports Desk (@sportsdeskph) November 6, 2018