Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
June Mar Fajardo isn’t the lone Mama’s boy in the San Miguel camp.
On Sunday, Chris Ross showed that he’s one, too, delivering a sensational performance with his mom Virginia in attendance as the Beermen opened its four-peat bid in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup with a 104-96 victory over Phoenix.
“My mom is here, and it’s her first time to see me play in a while,” he shared while embracing his mom, who arrived from San Antonio last week. “The last time she watched a game live was maybe three years ago, but we have TFC [in San Antonio] so she always watches.”
Ross churned out 16 points, nine assists, and six rebounds as he orchestrated San Miguel’s well-rounded attack.
More importantly, he showed why the Beermen have been the barometer in the all-Filipino conference over the past three seasons.
“It was a collective effort to go out there and show what we’re made of. It started with me, I wanted to go out early and give energy, have my teammates follow. I thought we looked pretty decent out there.”
It was an impressive win by SMB but Ross admits that there’s still a lot of things the team can improve on.
“It’s gonna be tough because everyone is going after us. We won this conference three years in a row and everyone’s beefed up their squad to come after us. We know we’re going to get everyone’s best shot every night. We’re prepared for that and we’re ready,” he said.
“But the toughest thing for us will be just getting in rhythm. We don’t play for another 10 days and after that, we don’t play for another 17 days. So three games in almost a month is not a lot for us. We’re a rhythm team so I think in the beginning it will be a little rocky but as soon as we find our rhythm I think we’ll be fine. We play against ourself out there, if everyone comes out locked in and on the same page, we’re a tough team to beat.”
For now, Ross’ main concern is spending time with his beloved mother before getting back on the grind against Meralco on December 27.
“It’s good to have her here live. She was texting me, messaging me on Facebook before and after the games. She’s really our no. 1 fan and it’s good to have her here,” he said.
June Mar isn’t the only mama’s boy in @TheSMBeermen. @cmross6 is, too, as he played inspired ball with mom Virginia watching the game live. #PBA2018 pic.twitter.com/dZq9FiwHK9
— Randolph B. Leongson (@RLeongsonINQ) December 17, 2017