Chris Ross cleared the air over his verbal exchange with Jojo Lastimosa after San Miguel’s Game 4 win in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals Sunday night.
The veteran guard said that he was only giving Poy Erram his flowers when he went over to the TNT bench after the final buzzer rang on their 105-91 victory.
“I just saw Poy over there by himself, and I just went over there to tell him that even though he’s not my teammate, I respect him for trying to play,” he told reporters moments after emerging from the dugout at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Erram did play despite a slight ligament tear on his right ankle, but his efforts unfortunately went in vain as the Tropang 5G are now down 3-1 in the series.
Still, he earned a fan in the 40-year-old, who made it known personally by going to him while the veteran big man sat on the TNT bench by himself.
(C) PBA Images
“Everyone saw how his ankle was not in the direction where it should have been, and he shouldn’t be playing- that’s like a two-month injury,” he said.
“And, he was out there trying to play. He was limping. I respect him, I respect him for trying to give his effort,” added the 10-time league champion.
Unfortunately, what was a moment worth cherishing for both men turned ugly as Lastimosa, the Tropang 5G team manager, shooed away Ross.
That, of course, left the straightforward playmaker befuddled as he was just trying to praise Erram, only for that spat to spoil everything.
“But I turned into the bad guy,” he said.
“There’s a lot of curse words, there’s a lot of stuff coming at me, and I was just trying to be a good sport and tell Poy how I felt about his effort,” he added.
“You can ask Poy what I told him. I don’t know what their problem is with me.”
#WATCH: After Game 4 of the #PBA2025 Finals, Chris Ross took a moment to comfort Poy Erram and salute him for fighting through injury 🏀
🎥 @justinebacnis/ Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/o2wczaLtZ0
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) July 20, 2025
