CHRIS Ross was on the brink of finally quiting the game when his father died almost a year ago in San Antonio, Texas.
It was for that reason the veteran Fil-Am guard took a while before returning to the country and resume playing for San Miguel.
“To say the least it was the hardest time of my life. I thought about it. I really thought about calling Boss Al (Chua) and saying, ‘hey Boss I don’t have anything left.’
“It was crashing for me. It was absolutely crashing for me.”
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But he knew had his father, William Ross, who once served in the US Air Force and the Customs and Border Protection, was alive, the elder Ross would have persuaded his son to keep on playing.
“I know that’s what my dad wants. My dad has been a fighter. He’s been a warrior his whole life. He would want me to come out here and do what I love and make him proud,” the San Miguel playmaker recalled. “Once I got the strength to do that, that’s when I come back here.”
It was a decision he wouldn’t regret as the 37-yeard-old helped the Beermen regain the PBA Philippine Cup crown following a 119-97 beating of TNT Tropang Giga in the deciding game of their best-of-seven finals Sunday.
Ross was in the zone during San Miguel’s huge fourth quarter run, hitting all of his nine points from beyond the arc as the Beermen outscored the Tropang Giga during that 12-minute stretch, 35-8.
The 6-foot-1 product of Marshall hit 4-of-7 from three-point range to finish with 12 points, while adding five rebounds, and four assists.
It was his 10th championship in the league overall, and his sixth all-Filipino crown.
But this one definitely is the most heart touching.
“My emotions got the best of me after the win because I knew he was on that court. There’s no other way to explain it. I knew my dad was there with me and I thought this was special,” said Ross, who looks up to his dad as ‘Superman.’