By REYNALD MAGALLON
Seeing LA Tenorio drill the game-winner in Game 6 while he was flanked deep in the San Miguel bench seemed to have lit a fire in Chris Ross.
Eager to prove that he has plenty of gas left on his tank just like his Ginebra counterpart, Ross put together a vintage performance in Game 7 and towed the Beermen to a 100-93 victory and to their third straight all-Filipino conference Finals.
Speaking at the post-game press conference after firing 10 of his 19 points in the fourth – he also had seven assists and four steals – Ross said he was hurt when he failed to contribute in the Game 6 loss, more so, not even seeing a single second on the floor.
“I’m a competitor. And not playing in the last game, it hurt my feelings,” admitted Ross.
“And then seeing LA do what he did, it was super inspiring to me. I had a chat with LA before the game (Game 7) and told him how I felt about him, just his journey and everything that led to him doing what he did. And it really inspired me,” he added.
Ross certainly left everything he got on the floor as stood alone in the middle of the court as the buzzer sounded. He even sat in exhaustion before the rest of the Beermen crowded him.
“It’s a multitude of things but the biggest one was not playing the last game. I literally couldn’t sleep the last two days just thinking about it. I’m a competitor. I didn’t play Game 2 but we won. That’s what I’m all about is winning,” said Ross
I don’t care if I play 48 minutes and I play one second, if we win, I’m happy. And not playing and not winning, you really rub me the wrong way. I was covering up some tears after that because it was been an emotional last two days for me,” he added.
The veteran playmaker and head coach Leo Austria actually had heartfelt talk just before Game 7 with the latter apologizing for not utilizing the former in the last game.
Making up for what he admitted as his mistake, Austria leaned on Ross in crunchtime and the 40-year-old veteran did not disappoint.
“All I was thinking about since Sunday night was getting my chance. And when I had my chance, I wanted to take full advantage of it. We’ve been working really hard since. I personally have been working super hard on my body, trying to get healthy and wait for this opportunity to prove, not prove anyone wrong, but prove myself right,” said Ross.
