Chris Ross accepts his Defensive Player of the Year award. Photo by Randolph Leongson
Chris Ross feels that his second Defensive Player of the Year honor is nothing but a validation of his hardwork on and off the court.
The San Miguel playmaker joined the ranks of Chris Jackson and Marc Pingris as the only players to win the award in consecutive years.
“It’s a blessing, to be one of the three guys in the history of the league to be named back-to-back,” said the Ross Thursday at the 2017 PBA Press Corps Annual Awards.
“I do a lot of stuff behind the scenes that not lot of people don’t see — as far as watching film on these guys. It’s a long process, but I go into the matchups well prepared. It’s a blessing that some of my hardwork’s been recognized. It makes me feel good because I put a lot of work in to being able to go out there and compete defensively.”
Aside from Jackson and Pingris who won the award thrice, Freddie Abuda, Wynne Arboleda, and Beermen
teammate Arwind Santos are also repeat winners of the said honor.
Still at his peak at 32, Ross winning his third Defensive Player of the Year citation isn’t too far-fetched but it’s going to be a different challenge doing it against a new batch of rookies with fresh legs.
“(There’s) a lot of rookies entering the league. Obviously, Kiefer (Ravena is) up there. He’s gone a lot better since he was in college. He’s putting a lot of work into his game and it showed a lot, and he’s young and I’m getting up there in age,” he said.
But Ross knows that helping San Miguel maintain its position at the top of the food chain remains the priority, and the rest will follow.
“But if we win, then the awards come. I’m gonna do my best — like I said, prepare. There’s a lot of talent that’s getting better and a lot of incoming guys that I have to do some research on. It’s gonna be a lot tougher chasing those guys around but I’m up for the challenge and I’m working on my body a lot. So we’ll see. If we win, we continue to play well, hopefully that third (Defensive Player of the Year) will come,” he said.