Chris Ross ) and the rest of the Beermen guard against complacency. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
San Miguel reached for the door of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship series on Friday night following its 106-96 dismantling of Barangay Ginebra in Game 2 of the semifinals.
The Beermen will have a chance to turn the knob this Sunday, but skipper Chris Ross has been playing the game long enough to know that doing so is easier said than done.
“We know firsthand how it is to be on that side,” he told the Inquirer while shaking his head.
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Ross was a member of the fabled Beermen squad that came back from three games down to win the 2015 Philippine Cup against Alaska, so the defensive whiz knows all too well that such a task is doable.
It would also be a mortal sin to count out a squad like the Gin Kings, the defending champions who are just as talented and are being coached by someone Ross has seen battles with.
“I know what coach Tim Cone’s going to do to get those guys going,” Ross said. “It’s going to be a Sunday game; it’s going to happen in the second match and there’s probably going to be a sellout crowd.
“We know this is far from over so we’ve got to weather the storm and play our game,” he went on.
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The Beermen have been proving they are more than the frontcourt tandem of June Mar Fajardo and import Bennie Boatwright Jr. in this short race. CJ Perez was big in the series opener, while it was Marcio Lassiter who dealt the killer blows for the Beermen in Game 2.
Such depth in talent would delude any squad into taking things easy. And that is what the seasoned playmaker is wary of.
“Complacency. That’s kind of human nature whenever you’re up,” Ross said. “(Ginebra is) still trying to get their first win, and we’re trying to get our last in this series. I expect nothing less (of a grind like) the first two games—that it’ll probably go down to the wire.”
And then there’s Barangay Ginebra’s rallying cry—something import Tony Bishop Jr. hopes to uphold heading into their Sunday’s match.
“Of course. Until it’s over with. Until the fat lady sings like we’d say,” he said when asked about liking his team’s chances. “We’re going to keep going hard. They’re up two and we have to win the next. Then take it a game at a time.”
Such a belief has been reinforced by the fact that Ginebra has never been blown out in the best-of-five affair. The Kings lost by only two points in Game 1, and kept the Beermen within striking range until the final minute of Game 2.