San Miguel Beer guard Chris Ross and import Terrence Watson double teams Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee. PBA IMAGES
Chris Ross may have given up four inches in defending Justin Brownlee, but at the end of the day, that huge height disparity was hardly a factor at all.
Bringing in his scrappiness and grit, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year hounded the Ginebra import for the 42 minutes he spent on the floor to help San Miguel come away with a 107-103 victory.
“I was just taking the challenge,” shared Ross on Sunday. “He was really a prolific import. He puts his shirts on like I put my shorts on in the morning, so I just go out there and compete.”
It may seem like a mismatch but the veteran guard showed he is the right man to slow down Brownlee, who was limited to just 14 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field.
Ross, who had four steals, was also stellar on the offensive end with 20 points, four rebounds and five assists.
“We’re desperate for a win and Ginebra is playing great basketball, so I’m just happy that we’re able to pull this win out,” he said. “Everyone played well. We had a great game plan from coach and we’re able to squeak this one out.”
Ross is also hopeful that wins like these can finally silence critics saying that San Miguel is in a disarray.
“I don’t think anything was wrong with us. We lost two games by one point. It’s not like we’re getting blown out. The game against Alaska, we got blown out, but before that, games against NLEX and Star were decided by just one possession,” he said. “I felt like we’re not playing bad even though we’re at 3-3. We’re always one possession away.”
Ross agreed that looking back, the Beermen made a mistake on replacing Wendell McKines with Terik Bridgeman.
But with Terrence Watson now in the fold, he believes that San Miguel is back to its old dominant self as it seeks to make it to the top four and ultimately capture the Grand Slam.
“When we changed imports, I guess you could say they made the wrong decision, but I felt we’re playing good enough to win games. We’re just not making plays at the end of the game. But now that we got an import that competes and fits in well with us, plus we’re getting healthy and coach is finding our way with our rotation, then we’re starting to play a little bit better which is causing us to win games,” he said.