For all the fanfare given to June Mar Fajardo, Chris Ross has undoubtedly been the fuel that keeps the San Miguel engine going.
And as the Beermen prepare for the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year believes that the hardships his team faced only strengthened the two-time defending champions.
“It sharpened us,” he said, citing San Miguel’s comeback from a 2-3 series deficit in its semifinals duel against TNT. “We only lost one game all conference, and then we go in, and we were never in the lead in that series.”
Ross doesn’t think that the series against the KaTropa exposed chinks in the Beermen’s armor but rather, tested the squad’s resolve as they needed seven games to book a third straight Philippine Cup Finals appearance.
“It just showed the resiliency that we had as a group, and it really sharpened us going into the Finals, because we’re going to have to be at our best to beat Ginebra,” he said.
And with the way San Miguel closed the series out, the team’s confidence is at an all-time high as it shifts its focus on the best-of-7 championship series against Ginebra, set to start on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena, and inch closer to taking home that elusive Perpetual trophy.
“We’re excited to be back in the Finals. We set a bunch of goals before the conference and we’re here in the Finals now, which was one of our goals,” he said. “We have four more games to complete the last goal. We’re all excited, and we’re ready to play. We’re ready to go.” CDG
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