In case you didn’t know, Chris Ross is like a pitbull. He does not back down against anybody — just ask Columbian Dyip import John Fields III.
Though Fields is at least eight inches taller than Ross, the 6-foot-1 defensive specialist did not hold back from exchanging words with the American reinforcement. And the referees had to get in the way, slapping a double technical foul on the two late in the third frame of the San Miguel Beermen’s game against the Dyip.
“Nothing man, it’s just basketball and I play basketball,” recalled the nine-year veteran of the incident after San Miguel’s 129-117 win.
“Stuff like that happens in the game. Once the game is over, it’s over.”
Ross added that he did not start the verbal exchange, as it was Fields who started talking trash to him.
“I never start anything,” he declared. “When people start to talk to me, my blood gets flowing a little bit.
“It kind of got my blood flowing and it felt good.”
And Ross definitely got into Fields’s head. After scoring 17 points in the first three quarters, he ended up scoring just two points in the final frame.
“Yeah, I think that’s part of the game eh. We know Chris Ross naman eh, that’s one way how to distract the opponent. It happens, and I think nagkaroon ng impact eh,” shared San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.
“He will do everything, even makipag-away siya doon, gagawin niya. I like his attitude, but sana to a certain limit ano. Every game, talagang he wants to pump up the team eh.”
“I’m not sure man,” Ross shared when told about it. “Did you ask him? I don’t know man. I know that we kinda pulled away after that.”
Ross definitely got the last laugh. With 10:25 left in the game, June Mar Fajardo faked a pass from the post that confused Fields. Ross joined the crowd in the SMART Araneta Coliseum to celebrate that moment, clapping right in front of Fields’s face.
“June Mar made a great move. It’s just one of the situations where you kinds just… you’re really into the game and you want the crowd to get the crowd into it as much as possible,” shared Ross, who tallied 10 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals.
“I just want to egg on the crowd a little bit.”
With the roll the Beermen are on, nobody can give them added motivation. Just ask Fields.
“That’s just water under the bridge. Chris Ross is a good competitor, and I’m a competitor, it just got heated. Both people wanna win,” Fields shared.
“He’s a good player.”
