Kevin Santos wasn't exactly the top option in offense for Colegio de San Juan de Letran, but the third-year big man makes sure he's always ready whenever his name gets called by coach Allen Ricardo.
That opportunity presented itself when Santos was inserted late in the Knights' match against league-leading De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde last Sunday.
He proved he's worthy of the minutes, burying the game-winning basket that broke a 69-all deadlock and delivered the key win for the Knights as they dealt the Blazers their first loss of the season.
Since that win, the confidence grew bigger for Santos.
He put together a career-high 17 points that he laced with five rebounds, six blocks, and a steal in their 75-73 escape at the hands of Emilio Aguinaldo College on Wednesday as the Knights grabbed a share of second spot with Perpetual at 4-2.
"‘Yung sa Benilde, doon ako nakakuha ng kumpiyansa. Binigay ko lang ‘yung tiwala ko kay coach Allen talaga, ‘yun ‘yung nagpapalakas ng loob eh," the soft-spoken bruiser said.
"Aggressive lang ako sa depensa namin tsaka ‘yung sistema sinunod ko lang. Tiwala lang ako kay coach Allen, ‘pag bubunutin ako ready lang ako lagi. Binibigay ko lang ‘yung 100 percent ko."
Before this pair of games, Santos was averaging just 22.22 percent from the field, shooting only one of his seven attempts from the two-point area while converting one of his two three-pointer attempts as he supplied support to their usual suspects like Jimboy Estrada, Deo Cuajao, and Pao Javillonar.
Letran head coach Allen Ricardo is pumped to see his ward show improvement as the season moves forward while also saying Santos will be a crucial piece in their campaign.
"Eventually, nando'n na siya sa point na nafa-finetune na niya ‘yung sarili niya inside the court. Alam na niya ‘yung role niya on the defensive end at saka offensive end so medyo nagiging composed na siya," Ricardo said.
"In the upcoming games, I'm looking forward na mas gaganda pa ‘yung attitude niya, body language niya. Alam ko magkakaro’n siya ng malaking impact doon sa team."
—JKC, GMA Integrated News
