The heated rivalry between the San Miguel Beermen and the TNT Katropa continued Wednesday night. And the emotions stemming from two playoff series during the past conference spilled over to the Governors Cup.
Approaching the two-minute mark of the second quarter, San Miguel Beermen’s Chris Ross set a ball screen for teammate Alex Cabagnot, helping the latter get rid of the defense put up by TNT Katropa’s Roger Pogoy.
However, it led into a heated exchange afterwards. Ross fell down to the ground after setting the pick against the rookie. He did not like what he received, so he quickly got up and gave Pogoy a mouthful. Not wanting to back down, Pogoy answered back.
After being pacified by their teammates and after a thorough review by the officials, both Pogoy and Ross were then slapped with technical fouls.
“There were a lot of emotions in this game,” said Ross, who had the last laugh over the neophyte as he and the Beermen prevailed over the Katropa, 97-91.
But despite emotions running high, the 32-year-old, who has yet to make a field goal this conference but still averaging 5.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists, did not hold grudges against the opposition, especially to Pogoy. He even lauded the Gilas cadet’s talent, and gave out an advice, being one of the league’s veterans.
“He’s a good player. I told him that he’s a really good player. Don’t get involved in anything else. Just play the game the right way,” said Ross. “You’re representing the country with Gilas, you’re there for a reason.
“He’s a very talented player so that’s what I told him. And he’s young in the league and he’ll be in this league for a long time and he’s gonna get better.”
