WHETHER it was directing plays or playing defense that he has always been known for, Chris Ross got the job done in Game 2 of the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup Finals.
Ross scored seven points, grabbed four rebounds, issued seven assists, and had four steals in San Miguel’s 98-92 win over TNT that put the best-of-seven championship series back to square one after a contentious finish to Game One.
READ Trollano catches fire as San Miguel gets back at TNT in Game Two
“It’s what I’ve been doing my whole career,” said the 40-year-old Ross. “Whatever it takes for my team to win, I try to do it, whether it’s playing defense or making a big three, or getting the ball to the right people, I try to be there for my team.
"Luckily, I was able to make a few plays tonight and we went our way.”
SMB coach Leo Austria said Ross’ effort no longer surprised him, adding, “Matagal kaming magkasama ni Chris Ross, since our first championship. And every championship, alam ko nagi-step up siya starting from the playoffs.
“Tonight, nakita natin how important he is. Nandoon ‘yung kanyang leadership, nandoon ‘yung distribution ng bola, and then kumportable sa kanya ‘yung mga players as a point guard," the SMB coach added.
Ross said their overall play on Wednesday was not fuelled by the events – during and after – Game 1 that saw the Beermen lose after Mo Tautuaa’s dunk was nullified due to a basket interference after a review by the technical committee.
Ross even had critical comments on X (formerly Twitter) about the controversial call and how it was handled afterwards.
The SMB playing assistant coach said the succeeding days after Game One were treated as if they were preparing for a usual finals game.
“Honestly, we didn’t really talk about it the next day,” said Ross. “We left it at the gym the next day. We just got ready for today. It’s something that you can’t change. You can’t go back and change anything about it. We felt like it was a game that we could’ve won, but the calls didn’t go our way.
“The good thing in the series, it was only Game One. We have six more games. We really wanted to be at our best today.”
READ Jeron Teng stands tall after embracing a lesser role at SMB
On his comments on X, Ross said: “It is what it is, right? Everyone that I’ve talked to about the play, they were as confused as I was, as everyone was. But they made a call. There’s nothing we can do about it.
“There were so many press conferences that were being held. I didn’t see the point of that many press conferences. You said your thing once, then let’s move forward. That’s my point. I said wat I said and we moved on.”
What fueled Ross’ Game 2 performance, however, was his desire to play, something that he has been wanting after a couple of benchings in the semifinal series against Barangay Ginebra.
With SMB facing the prospects of going down 0-2, Ross felt he had to be at his best.
“The coaches are calling my number in the fourth. The last three games, I’ve played the whole fourth quarter. I just want to go out there and make plays for my team. If I'm not doing something, then I shouldn’t be on the court.
“I’ve been begging them to let me play more throughout the season. Now they’re starting to play me, so I've got to make plays. Sometimes you don't make plays, sometimes you do. Today I did, and we were able to win. That's the biggest thing."
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