A RACIST taunt from Arwind Santos overshadowed San Miguel's crucial win over the TNT KaTropa in Game 5 of the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals.

Santos was spotted dancing like a monkey on the bench after TNT import Terrence Jones was called for a foul at the 1:05 mark of the second quarter.

Taunting an African-American in such manner is considered racist, but the former MVP saw nothing wrong with it.

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Santos said post-game, "Sinabi ko nga, mind games 'yun pero sinabihan naman ako kaya hindi ko na ginawa 'yun. Dati, ginagawa ko 'yan, wala naman warning. Okay lang. Kanina winarningan ako ni Commissioner at mga coaches ko kaya hindi ko na ginawa."

An unapologetic Santos recalled his time with the Air21 Express when they used to direct the said insult at the likes of Fil-Am ex-player Dorian Peña.

"Magso-sorry ako? Hindi, kasi depende 'yun sa kanya. Kung mapipikon siya, totoong monkey siya. Kung hindi ka mapipikon, hindi ka monkey. Kami, nang-aasar lang. Kami ngang magkakapatid nag-aasaran din kami."

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Social media isn't convinced, though, as Arwind is still trending on Twitter after netizens expressed frustration over him and his justification.

Among them was Ginebra forward Joe Devance, who questioned Santos' "level of education and class."

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Hoops fans and non-fans alike had the same thing to say about the problematic act.

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Some brought up the irony of Santos having African-American teammates in Chris Ross and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, as well as the related incident that sparked the Gilas-Australia basketbrawl.

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They also pointed out that ignorance isn't an excuse to be racist.

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Japeth Aguilar's fiancee, beauty queen Cassy Naidas, instead encouraged those who are more mindful to educate others regarding these matters.

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Other than the Commissioner's reported in-game warning, the PBA has yet to issue a statement on the situation and whether Santos gets penalized or not. One commenter in Devance's thread explained importance of addressing the issue and its lingering effect to other communities.

The NBA, for one, has been actively curbing racism in recent years.

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Last season, the Utah Jazz permanently banned a fan for racially taunting Russell Westbrook. In 2014, former LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling was banished from the league for life and was forced to sell the team after being found out that he had made discriminatory remarks the year before.