Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net
If there’s one thing that San Miguel guard Chris Ross and NLEX coach Yeng Guiao have in common, it’s that both of them don’t want to lose.
But the similarities end there as both figures find themselves always at war, much like on Friday when Guiao and Ross butt heads anew late in San Miguel’s 109-98 win over NLEX.
Things came to head with 1:46 mark of the fourth quarter and the game already decided. While Kevin Alas was at the charity stripe, Guiao and Ross traded barbs that triggered a commotion among the players as they tried to come between the two.
READ: SMB stays unscathed, escapes NLEX
Ross was ejected after he was attested with his second technical foul and refused to entertain questions from the media after the game.
Coach Leo Austria shed light on the exchange between Ross and Guiao, as relayed to him by the Defensive Player of the Year.
“I confronted Chris Ross because he’s one of the most important players in my team, especially in the endgame. According to Chris, he was called a n****r,” said the Beermen mentor. “That’s a word that he doesn’t want to hear from any people and that flared him up.”
READ: PBA: RoS coach Guiao fined P20K for actions towards SMB’s Ross
Guiao, meanwhile, said that he just gave in to what Ross, who was talking trash him in front of the Road Warriors bench, wanted.
“He was there in front of us and he wouldn’t stop trash talking. For me, you should be respectful at that point and be the one to distance yourself given that you’re already winning. The game was a foregone conclusion at that time, so maybe he should have been more respectful. He should just shut up,” he said. “I didn’t understand what he was saying and what he was talking about so I trash-talked him too.”
Guiao, however, denied that he dropped the racial slur on Ross.
“No, I did not say the N-word. I don’t know if anyone heard, but I didn’t,” he said.
The fiery mentor admitted, though, that he gave Ross the middle finger as a part of his “psychological warfare,” but there’s nothing more to it.
“He likes to mock, not just against us, everytime there are skirmishes like that. He also knows what he’s capable of,” said Guiao.