Ross has another big game vs Aces
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Playing against Alaska does seem to bring out the best in Chris Ross.
The San Miguel Beer point guard, however, begs to disagree.
Facing their fierce rivals for the first time since the Philippine Cup Finals, the do-it-all guard said it doesn’t really matter who he and the Beermen take on.
“I always play the same way,” said Ross, who was the Finals MVP last conference, after San Miguel’s 116-96 blowout of Alaska.
The team’s success, however, lies on their cohesiveness as a unit, which has led to three titles in the last four conferences.
And once again on Wednesday, it was Ross who starred with his 14 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and one steal.
“My teammates make my job easier. I pass to them and they make me look good. It’s not just me but my teammates who do the hard work,” said Ross.
San Miguel just flat out balled, draining threes with little ease despite missing a couple of key pieces in its rotation. It went 17-of-37 from threes, burying any comeback attempts from the Aces.
But Ross said in order for the Beermen to win back-to-back titles, they will need to be in full-health squad, which starts with June Mar Fajardo, who is still recuperating from a swollen right knee.
“Of course, we need June Mar. He is the best player in the country. We just got to hold the fort,” he said. “It’s kind of like in the NBA with Blake Griffin and the Clippers. He’s their best player but they’re playing well without him.”
“They can’t win a championship without him, we can’t win a championship without June Mar. We just got to hold the fort until he gets healthy enough to comeback and play,” added Ross. “We have enough talent to do that and keep advancing in the tournament, but everyone has to pull their own weight and we should be fine.”
Thanks to the leadership of captains Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot, the outside sniping of Marcio Lassiter, the defensive intensity brought by Ross, and of course, Tyler Wilkerson’s versatility, coach Leo Austria can afford to rest Fajardo longer for him to fully recover from his injury.
But knowing Fajardo, Ross said the Beermen’s main man is already aching to come out and play.
“The way June Mar is, he never wants to rest. That dude, if he could play 24 hours a day, he would. He just doesn’t want to rest,” he said. “Whenever he feels he’s ready to go, he’s going to play. I always tell him everyday to rest, and he wants to practice and play.”
“That’s just a testament to June Mar, he wants to be a part of something special, and we know, everyone knows that he has to be healthy for us to do that.”
