DESPITE an emotional PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series, Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone still gave props to Chris Ross, especially with the leadership he has always provided for San Miguel.
Cone gave Ross a lot of credit after the Kings finally turned back the tough fightback made by the Beermen in the best-of-five duel, claiming the last semifinals berth of the third conference via a 110-94 win.
READ: Ginebra rides 25-2 blitz to overturn Game 5 vs SMB, reach semis
As an ultimate compliment, the 68-year-old champion coach has even mentioned the Fil-Am guard in the same breath as PBA and basketball legend Robert Jaworski Sr.
“I’ve been around now 36 to 37 years in the league and I’ve pretty much seen everybody. And except for the Big J himself, I have not seen a better leader than Chris Ross as a player,” admitted Cone.
“June Mar has gotten his flowers for a number of years, nine MVPs, and I think we had a tendency to disregard Chris Ross’ contribution to that team as a leader.”
It was the 41-year-old Ross who willed San Miguel back in the series after being down earlier at 0-2.
In Game 4, the playoff Ross exploded for 20 points, including 13 in a pivotal stretch in the third quarter where the Beermen poured 46 points on the way to a 108-102 win.
He also added six rebounds and nine assists in a performance that was also marred by his heated verbal exchange with Ginebra deputy coach and former San Miguel star Olsen Racela.
By the end of their sudden-death game, Ross and Cone talked to each other briefly at center court before giving each other a warm hug.
The Ginebra coach said he got to know Ross better during their time together with Gilas Pilipinas in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China.
“I got to see it firsthand because he led us to the Asian Games gold. He was the leader on that team,” said Cone. “He led there incredibly well and we would never had it done without him.”
Ross finished with only two points om 1-of-7 shooting, two rebounds, two assists, and two steals, with no turnover in 30 minutes of play in Game 5, while dividing his time defending sophomore gunner RJ Abarrientos, who finished with 19 points but was 6-of-19 overall from the field.
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