CHRIS Ross admitted his halftime verbal spat with Barangay Ginebra assistant coach Olsen Racela got him going on his way in a heroic performance in Game 4 of the PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup quarterfinals.
Ross, 41, came away 20 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and five steals to help San Miguel overcome a 17-point deficit against Ginebra, 108-102, and move on the verge of winning the best-of-seven series from 0-2 down.
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Ross erupted for 13 points in the third quarter after he had a verbal exchange with Racela on their way back to their respective dugouts at the halftime break.
Witnesses claimed Ross was complaining to the referees during the intermission when Racela, incidentally a San Miguel great, motioned to ask the referees to hit the SMB guard with a technical foul, which Ross obviously didn't like.
Ross and Racela then exchanged words with members of their respective teams needing to separate the two.
READ Pinto asks why Ross goes unpunished for 'excessive complaining'
Ross said incidents such as what happened at halftime fire him up.
“As a 17-year veteran, there’s a lot of disrespect that I get,” Ross said. “It just feels me to just play that much harder.”
“I feel like I get a lot of disrespect from certain people that don’t know me, people that never talk to me, had a conversation with me off the court. And I just think it’s very disrespectful.”
“So I just focused on putting that energy towards my team and my family,” said Ross.
Ross said he had some words for the team shortly after that spat with Racela as the Beermen trailed, 55-41, and were facing elimination.
“Our backs were against the wall… I said some words to the guys at halftime. Just our effort wasn’t there. I think they had 20 second-chance points at the half. But I thought our offense was good. We were just missing shots that we normally made. I just wanted to give the energy.”
SMB went on to outscore Ginebra, 46-18, in the third quarter on their way to victory.
“It’s too early for us to go home. We wanted to force a decider and we came out with a 22-0 run. Guys were just playing free. Guys were shooting open shots. Guys were passing the ball to each other. That’s what it looks like when San Miguel is playing unselfishly and all on the same page. We are a pretty dangerous team,” said Ross.
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