SAN Miguel played down the spat between team consultant Leo Austria and playing-assistant coach Chris Ross that took place in the heat of Game 4 of the PBA Governors Cup quarterfinals series against Converge FiberXers on Friday night.
In a video posted on the official X (formerly Twitter) account of the PBA, Austria and Ross were seen exchanging heated words at the San Miguel bench during one stretch in the third quarter when the FiberXers were making a run.
Simon Enciso and Rodney Brondial were also seen pacifying Austria as he talked to the veteran guard who was already sitting on the bench.
WATCH:
Austria didn’t deny the incident that came in the wake of a 114-100 loss to the FiberXers that paved the way for a deciding Game 5 in the series on Sunday at the Ynare Center in Antipolo.
But the former San Miguel coach said the argument was nothing but a normal occurrence in the team especially between two persons who wanted to win.
“May slight altercation, pero wala na 'yun. Tapos na yun,” said a cool, calm, and collected
Austria following an extended meeting among the coaching staff of the Beermen at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“Nag-kiss and make up na kami.”
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Ross, who went scoreless in eight minutes of action, quickly left the venue after the game.
Apparently, the 39-year-old guard was taken by surprised when coach Jorge Gallent took him out of the game while the FiberXers were making a late run in the third quarter.
Austria went over to Ross and appeared to be explaining the move of the coaching staff. Seconds later, the two were already caught exchanging heated words against each other.
Ross, incidentally, was no longer fielded back in the game. He also hurriedly left the San Miguel bench after the final buzzer and proceeded to the team dugout, shunning the traditional handshake between teams at midcourt.
The Beermen were outscored in points off turnovers, 22-13, and surprisingly, were also outscored inside the paint, 62-48, as the FiberXers forged the deciding Game 5 for a spot in the best-of-seven semifinals against Barangay Ginebra.
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