TNT Tropang 5G team manager Jojo Lastimosa (left) and San Miguel Beermen star Chris Ross (right). Photo from PBA Images.
MANILA — Tensions ran high after Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday.
With both the San Miguel Beermen and the TNT Tropang 5G already figuring in exchanges, mainly due to Jericho Cruz's celebrations in the fourth canto, even what was a moment of sportsmanship between Chris Ross and Poy Erram sparked another spat.
It was not between the two veterans, however. Instead, it was TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa — who already had his issues with Cruz prior — who was seen exchanging words with Ross before they returned to their respective locker rooms.
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"I just saw Poy over there by himself," shared Ross. "I just went over there to tell him that even though he's not my teammate, I respect him for trying to play."
The veteran playmaker said he was giving Erram credit for playing through an ankle injury that the former Ateneo de Manila University standout sustained in Game 3 last Friday.
"There is no disrespect, and I told Poy, I respect him for trying to play. That was it," said Ross. "Everyone saw how his ankle was not in the direction where it should have been. He shouldn't be playing, that's like a two-month injury."
That is why Ross was shocked at how Lastimosa approached him following his exchange with Erram.
"I turned into the bad guy," Ross said. "There were a lot of curse words, a lot of stuff coming at me, but I was just trying to be a good sport and tell Poy how I felt about his effort."
But while emotions have gone up further as each game progresses, Ross is embracing this and even sees it as added fuel as they look to close the series on Wednesday.
"We want it. We want to be emotional," he emphasized. "That's why I also tell Jericho: 'Be you. 'I always tell Jericho: 'When you are you, we're a better team.'"
"[Game 5] is gonna be a battle, and we expect nothing less, but we'll be ready for whatever's there for us," added Ross.
Tip-off on Wednesday, July 23, is at 7:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.
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