It was a surreal moment for Arwind Santos as he received his framed San Miguel Beer jersey No. 29 surrounded by former teammates, coaches, family and friends at the center court of the Philsports Arena in Pasig City Wednesday.

Witnessed by a good Labor Day crowd, the simple ceremony held during halftime of the Beermen and Blackwater’s Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup match celebrated the 42-year-old forward’s colorful and illustrious career wearing the San Miguel jersey.

“Not everyone gets this kind of opportunity. I’m thankful to the Lord, to boss (San Miguel Corporation head) RSA (Ramon S. Ang), boss (SMC sports head) Al (Chua) and boss (San Miguel governor) Robert (Non) for giving me a chance,” Santos said.

Santos joined the elite club of San Miguel greats that had their jersey nos. retired by the league’s winningest franchise which includes Allan Caidic (No. 8), Samboy Lim (No.9), Yves Dignadice (No. 12), Hector Calma (No. 14) Olsen Racela (No. 17) and Ramon Fernandez (No. 19).

“It’s both happy and sad because you still want to be with your teammates knowing that you can still contribute to the team,” Santos said.

A member of the PBA 40 Greatest Players, Santos is also listed in the 10,000-point club.

“But this is special that I got my jersey retired but that doesn’t mean that I won’t play anymore. It’s just my jersey that was retired. My passion and love for basketball is still there. We can’t say, who knows maybe I’ll be back,” added Santos, hinting at a possible return to the big league next year.

However, a return to the Beermen would be tricky as his rights remain with his last PBA team, NorthPort.

Santos was drafted by Air21 second overall in the 2006 PBA Draft. He was shipped to San Miguel in 2009 where he flourished as an offensive threat and an important defensive cog.

He was a member of the feared “Death Five” of San Miguel along with retired Alex Cabagnot and still active June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross.

An athletic and passionate player, the former Far Eastern University star bagged the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 2013, won Best Player of the Conference twice and Finals MVP two times.

Santos’ defensive prowess earned him three Defensive Player of the Year awards and a member of the PBA All-Defensive Team eight times.

A member of the PBA 40 Greatest Players, Santos is also listed in the 10,000-point club.