Injured Ross hopes to be ready for San Miguel’s opener vs Meralco

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/ INQUIRER.net

If Chris Ross will have his way, he’ll be up and about when San Miguel opens its title retention bid in the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on May 9 against Meralco.

“That’s the goal. I don’t like missing games,” he said. “I think I missed one game two years ago and I was stressed. I’m really trying to keep my streak of playing alive.”

However, his strained thigh is putting his bid to be the PBA’s iron man in peril and is hoping for nothing but the best when he gets another check up this week.

Ross said that he’s no longer feeling any pain in his hamstring but against his will, he is following his doctor’s orders to stay away from any drills.

“I shot a little bit but nothing crazy. I haven’t ran, I couldn’t sprint. I asked if I could do some bikes or swim, but they said no,” he said. “I’m just itching to get some sweat in. My trainer wanted me to get 21 days rest after our last game and we’re gonna go from there. Hopefully, next week I’ll do some strengthening and some recovery and hope that I’ll be ready.”

It also doesn’t help that Ross, last year’s BPC in the Commissioner’s Cup, wants the reigning champion to test the mettle of the Bolts, who are always a force to be reckoned with in import-laden conferences.

“Meralco is a tough team. Usually when they have an import, that covers their weaknesses. So they’re a tough team and we know that game is a tough game and I’ll try to get ready for that,” he said.

However, if Ross won’t be at 100 percent at that game, he promised San Miguel that he won’t force the issue as he keeps his eyes locked in on the big picture.

“If my body is not ready for the night, I got to be ready for the second game or the third game,” he said.

“The main goal is playing at the right time in the playoffs. If that costs me missing a few games at the start of the conference, I got to be smart about it and listen to my body, listen to my trainers. Luckily now, we got a little more deeper with Christian (Standhardinger) and Troy (Gillenwater) coming in. We got a lot of help.”