TIM Cone has seen Chris Ross enough to know how the two-time PBA Defensive Player of the Year can change the complexion of games when he wants to.
"How many times have you seen Chris step up in big, really important games and knock down three-point shots? It's really amazing, he has a real uncanny knack for that, playing and doing what he has to do to pick up the team," Cone said.
Cone's teams have been on the receiving end of those Ross moments, but in this 30th Southeast Asian Games, he's glad that they're on the same side.
Ross sparked a 39-point third quarter that enabled the Philippines to break loose from a hot-shooting Indonesia side, 97-70, on Monday and advance to the gold medal game of the men's basketball tournament.
The San Miguel guard, who's been gun-shy and only scored three points through the group stages, picked the right time to hit three treys in the third quarter to turn a close 43-37 Gilas lead to a huge 78-45 spread.
"He's always done that throughout his career, and that's one of the big reasons, I think one of the major reasons - along with June Mar [Fajardo], of course - of San Miguel's success," Cone said in awe of Ross.
Big time players indeed make big time plays.
The pesky guard finished with 11 points, nine coming in that period alone, on top of six assists and five rebounds to spur the Filipinos' win.

Ross, however, said that he just took what the defense gave him, with his focus on being the anchor of Gilas' defense in this biennial conclave.
"I was just trying to be aggressive, take what the defense gives me," he said as the Philippines moved one win away from an 18th men's basketball gold.
"It's never a concentrated effort on offense for me, it's always defensively for me. I pride myself on defense and if I can get myself going and my teammates going with my energy defensively, I think it's kinda infectious throughout the team and I was more so pleased with the way we defended as a team when we went on that run."
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