Fran Yu earns glowing grades from Chris Ross
After Game One of the NCAA Season 95 Seniors Basketball Finals, Fran Yu disclosed that one of the players he idolizes is San Miguel’s all-around guard Chris Ross.
Upon hearing it, the Filipino-American defensive specialist reached out to Yu, tweeting: “Finish the job!! One more win! Someone tag him. Have him DM me!”
And his wish came true, as Ross was one of the special guests of Letran head coach Bonnie Tan during Game Three, Tuesday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
Besides watching the game, the eight-time PBA champion also gave the halftime pep talk to the Knights.
“All those guys were focused on me, but they didn’t care that I was there. They’re all zoned in, focused on the game,” quipped Ross.
“They listened to me, but they’re really focused.”
Just like Ross’ style of play, the Knights were scrappy in the second half, showing how badly they wanted to end their championship drought. They dove for loose balls, made tough screens, and fought it out underneath against San Beda.
In the end, it resulted in an 81-79 win to win the crown. Besides this, Yu was adjudged as the Finals MVP after posting norms of 13.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals in the epic three-game series.
Having seen Yu, Ross opined that the second-year Knight does not need his tutelage. All he needs to do is continue being the pitbull that he is.
“I just wanted to come and give him an outside eye. He doesn’t need me. He ran the team well and he’s being a leader,” Ross said.
“He’s playing his game.”
For Yu, though, it should all begin with his conditioning, since he suffered cramps late in both Games Two and Three.
“Papakondisyon pa ko lalo kasi ewan ko, nung dulo pa nagkakaganito katawan ko. Ginagawa ko naman ‘yung kailangan namin gawin pero kung kailan na kailangan na kailangan ako, dun ako nawawala.”
