CHRIS Ross had little to say about what he felt was an eight-second violation in the dying seconds of Game 5 of the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup Finals.
Ross was seen furiously complaining to the referees when he felt Calvin Oftana wasn’t able to cross the center line in time with TNT leading, 82-71. San Miguel, however, appeared to have stopped playing and that led to Oftana cruising for a layup that put his team up by 13 points.
“I’m not surprised,” he said, when asked about the incident, without going into detail.
Rules state that an eight-second violation is called when a player is still in the backcourt when the shot clock reaches 15 seconds.
The Beermen missed out on the title in Game 5 following an 86-78 defeat to the Tropang 5G, cutting their lead to 3-2 heading into Friday’s game at the Philsports Arena.
READ: TNT stands defiant, mauls SMB to extend PBA Finals to a Game Six
While Ross recognized how well TNT played to stay alive, the loss didn't change SMB's confidence level about closing out the series, this time, in Game 6.
“It’s a series and they’re a championship team and we knew they were going to fight back. They played a good game and we did not. They extended the series. We got another chance Friday and we’ll be ready,” he said.
SMB quick to atone for losses
Ross noted how well San Miguel responds to losses. This conference alone, the Beermen haven’t lost back-to-back games, including even the semifinals where Barangay Ginebra took them to seven games.
“I’m very confident in my team. After a loss, we find ways to bounce back. Friday will be no different,” said Ross, who finished with six points, six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in Game 5.
“We'll put our best foot forward,” the SMB skipper added. “We’ll make some adjustments and then we'll come out ready to play. Hopefully we end it Friday. If not, we play again Sunday, but we got another chance on Friday and hopefully, we play better.”
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