Chris Ross has been proving his value for San Miguel Beer in its title run in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
The 16-year veteran provided the defensive spark, fed his teammates easy shots and kept the Beermen together with his leadership and composure to level the best-of-seven championship series against TNT to one game apiece Wednesday night.
Head coach Leo Austria started the usually coming off the bench Ross, and the team’s elder statesman delivered.
Ross’ scrappy defense and great court vision fueled San Miguel Beer’s 98-92 victory — a huge bounce back following a heartbreaking but controversial loss in the series opener.
The 40-year-old guard logged almost 33 minutes of action and filled his stats line with seven points, seven assists, four rebounds and four steals.
“Yeah, we’ve been together for a long time, Chris Ross, since our first championship. And every championship, I know, he’s been stepping up, starting from the playoffs. And then tonight, we saw how important he is,” Austria said of the 10-time champion cager.
“His leadership is there, his ball distribution is there, and then the players are comfortable with him as a point guard.”
Ross served as the Beermen’s glue guy, especially in the fourth quarter when they made a decisive run to pull away, highlighted by his steal and breakaway layup.
The 2009 third overall pick tallied three steals in the fourth period of the game, where San Miguel forced TNT to commit 17 turnovers, which it converted into 24 turnover points.
“That’s what I’ve been doing my whole career, whatever it takes for my team to win, I try to do it,” Ross said.
“Whether it’s making the hot guys make a big three, or whatever it is. Getting the ball to the right people, I try to do the same thing.”
Restrained for most of the conference and letting his younger teammates operate, Ross is now making the most of his time on the floor.
“I just want to go out there and make plays for my team. If I’m not doing something, then I shouldn’t be on the court,” Ross said.
“I’ve been begging them to let me play more throughout the season. Now they’re starting to play me, so I’ve got to make plays. Sometimes you don’t make plays, sometimes you do. Today I did, and we were able to win.”
Austria lauded his court general for stepping up and playing the catalyst in forcing TNT to turn the ball over.
“It’s his defense. That’s his game. But his impact is his leadership. He knows what to do. This is the championship and I know him. Even if he doesn’t score, it doesn’t matter to him, as long as he takes care of his teammates inside,” he said.
“And that’s what happened. What more if he scores? And I’m so happy for him because he showed his worth.”