The MPBL on Thursday brought the hammer down on nine-time PBA champion Arwind Santos, levying him an indefinite suspension and a ₱100,000 fine for punching Tonton Bringas in Game 2 between Santos’s Basilan Starhorse and Bringas’s GenSan Warriors on Monday.
By all measures, the punishment fits the crime. However, it’s puzzling that Santos received an indefinite ban and a ₱100,000 fine when Michole Sorela, ironically of the Warriors, got double the fine and a lifetime ban to boot for a similar infraction earlier this year—punching the Mindoro Tamaraws’ Jonas Tibayan.
Arwind Santos’s Fall from Grace
Comparisons aside, Arwind Santos’s punishment is certainly severe—and it is most definitely well warranted. At 44 years old, Santos is not some impressionable, hot-headed rookie who doesn’t know any better. He is a former PBA MVP, a champion at every level he has played in, and is—whether he cares to admit it or not—a role model to many. It is why his lapse in judgment is so disappointing. He has seen it all. He should have known better.
Then again, Santos swinging for the fences in the heat of battle isn’t necessarily a surprise. Through his years in the PBA and even in college, the former FEU Tamaraw built quite the reputation for being an instigator—someone who’s known to dish out an elbow or two, a love tap here and there, and maybe an unnecessary shove from time to time. In other words, he knows all about the physical play Bringas is dishing out because he himself has given the same. And, from that vantage point, MPBL Commissioner Kenneth Duremdes certainly did the right thing in putting the hammer down on Santos, regardless if he had, indeed, reached out to Bringas to clear the air.
In fact, anything less would’ve made Duremdes’s leadership appear weak given the precedent he already set in levying a ₱200,000 fine on Sorela and banning him for life. With that unprecedented decision, Duremdes proved unequivocally that the MPBL, while highly physical to begin with, does not condone violence and has no place for provocateurs who cross lines. Arwind Santos did that. A closed-fist punch to an opponent’s face crosses a bright red line. Physicality is part of basketball, but assault is not. Duremdes, therefore, sent the right message in punishing the former PBA star.
Accountability for Both Sides
But to be fair, Bringas’s physical play and on-court provocations should not go unnoticed either. Arwind Santos maintains the GenSan bruiser had been overtly physical and was already inflicting a world of hurt, which is why Santos felt the need to retaliate. So, despite Santos’s act of hooliganism, Duremdes must do the right thing and investigate what might be Bringas’s own malicious acts—and dole out punishment if warranted. This is fairness, and it is paramount Duremdes ensures this to build up the MPBL’s integrity.
At the end of the day, basketball is built on passion—a whole lot of it. But it also demands discipline, especially in the heat of battle and when emotions run high. Arwind Santos couldn’t check his, and now he must pay the price. The challenge now for Commissioner Duremdes and the MPBL is to make sure no one else resorts to hooliganism as the league moves forward.
