Chris Ross did not deny that his spat with Olsen Racela fueled him to play one of his best games in quite a while—much to San Miguel’s delight, of course.
The verbal altercation between the 41-year-old and the cage legend-turned-deputy served as one of the many layers of the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series between the sister teams, but the former stood tall at the end of it all.
“As a 17-year veteran, there’s a lot of disrespect that I get, and it just fueled me to play that much harder,” Ross said moments after their 108-102 Game 4 victory at the SMART Araneta Coliseum on Friday evening.
The incident happened shortly after the halftime buzzer sounded and with the Kings ahead by 14 points, 55-41. The exact reason behind it remains unknown, but the exchange was so heated that both men had to be restrained.
Ross himself did not elaborate further on how and what exactly triggered the commotion, but expressed displeasure with the disrespect he felt.
“I feel like I get a lot of disrespect from certain people—people that don’t know me, people that never talk to me and have a conversation with me off the court. And I just think it’s very disrespectful,” said the former BPC.
As tough as it was, the 12-time champion chose to channel all the energy to San Miguel and on the court, resulting in a massive comeback after the break which put them ahead the rest of the way—and kept their season alive.
(C) PBA Images
Ross poured 13 points in the third quarter, putting himself at the front and center of their overwhelming 46-point eruption, highlighted by a searing 22-0 assault to give themselves a 66-61 lead approaching the midway mark of the period.
He went on to finish Game 4 with 20 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and five steals in yet another proof of how valuable he remains in high-stakes affairs.
“I just wanted to give them energy. And it’s too early for us to go home. We wanted to force a decider,” Ross said.
“I still have a lot of game left. My body feels really good. I just had a new baby, so she gives me a lot of fuel.”
Yet he was prouder of the way they turned their fortunes around specifically during that chapter, in which they came back from as much as 17 down.
“I think we went on a 22-0 run in the third,” he said. “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’s playing unselfishly and all on the same page; we’re a pretty dangerous team.”
As happy as he was, Ross would rather stay grounded and get their minds locked in for the win-or-go-home Game 5 next Tuesday in Antipolo.
“We have done nothing today; we just evened the series. They won two straight, we won two straight, there’s a decider. We’re excited,” he said.
