Chris Ross is not changing his calling card
There was fire in the eyes of Chris Ross during Game Four of the best-of-seven series in the 2016-17 Philippine Cup that pitted the San Miguel Beermen against the TNT Katropa.
Down 1-2 in the series and with the calls from Game Three — which he thought had been unfair against June Mar Fajardo — still lingering on his mind, Ross took it upon himself to carry the Beermen on his back.
“Well, nagulat ako and I’m happy na pumasok yung kanyang mga tira especially dun sa three-point area. As much as possible, gusto ko tumira si Alex [Cabagnot] or si Marcio [Lassiter],” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.
“But as it turned out, he’s our best shooter tonight, especially in the three-point area.”
Entering Game Four, the 6-foot-1 defensive specialist had been averaging just 7.0 points but did all the other things — posting norms of 7.67 rebounds, 7.33 assists, and 3.66 steals. But on a cold Tuesday evening, the Filipino-American guard heated up, arming himself with the desire to torch TNT on all fronts.
“I was being aggressive. During the warm-ups I was making a lot of shots so I just wanted to come out and be aggressive. If we went down 3-1 then it would be tough on us,” the native of San Antonio, Texas shared.
“I just wanted to come out, be aggressive and try to lead by example. I’m usually the one leading by being a vocal leader but today I kinda wanted to lead by example, give energy and try to help my teammates.”
And lead by example he did. Ross finished the game with 31 points — shattering his previous high by nine points — to go along with five rebounds, five assists, and three steals in 41 minutes of action. More importantly, it helped the defending Philippine Cup champions knot their series at 2-all.
But even if he picked up his personal-high, Ross was more proud of the work he did against Jayson Castro. The Gilas Pilipinas pool member was kept silent by Ross, finishing the game with 13 points but just 5-of-17 from the field.
“I just really look at the defense, try to make it tough on Jayson because he’s what makes them go,” last season’s Defensive Player of the Year added.
“Offense is just a plus, as long as I can try to limit Jayson then I’m happy with that.”
With the way things are going between the two teams, Chris Ross knows that they can’t let their guards down.
