San Miguel’s Chris Ross. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
If there’s something Game 4 had taught Ginebra, it’s that you can leave no one from San Miguel open beyond the arc.
Not even Chris Ross.
Seen as the Beermen’s weakest shooter from the outside, the defensive-minded guard silenced the critics by going 5-of-10 from three to wind up with 17 points, nine assists, and four rebounds in their 94-85 victory in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
“I’ll just keep shooting,” he said. “Either you make it or you miss it. I got a couple to go tonight. I was wide open so I just shoot it, get a lot of repetitions, get confidence on making the shot, and get going.”
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Ross’ hot shooting was just part of San Miguel’s scintillating 15-of-35 clip from beyond the arc, setting the tone for the early 26-point advantage which was enough to repulse the Gin Kings late.
Going up 3-1 in the best-of-7 series, Ross said that the Beermen still can’t afford to let their guard down as he expects a tougher fightback from Ginebra come Game 5 on Sunday.
“It’s going to be a battle. We know they’re going to come out fighting and they’re going to battle. We just got to be ready for it,” he said. “It’s the Finals. We got to come out to play every game. It’s never going to be easy, and the further long you go in this series, the harder it gets. We’ve been through this before and we’re ready for whatever situation we come across.”
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Knowing Ginebra’s capability of making a comeback, the Beermen are going into Sunday’s game as if they weren’t a win away from another All-Filipino Cup title.
“We’re not looking at it as 3-1. We’re looking at it as 0-0. We’ve already talked about it in the locker room. We’re not up, we’re not down. We’re going in as an even series,” he said.