‘Playoff Ross’ Leads SMB to Oust GSM in Game 7 Thriller

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Big time players make big time plays, indeed.

After two DNP’s (Did Not Play) games during the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals, 40-year-old veteran and 10-time champion Chris Ross stepped up when the San Miguel Beermen needed him the most as he steered his squad to a nail-biting Game 7 win over Barangay Ginebra, 100-93, on July 9, 2025, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

“I’m a competitor. Not playing in the last game, it hurt my feelings. I told coach, we had a chat yesterday, that I’m a winner. I just want to win by any means. I don’t care how it is done,” said the inspires Ross during San Miguel’s post-game interview.

Playoff Ross has come to play in the bright lights of the win-or-go-home Game 7 against the pro-Ginebra crowd who can’t be silenced after their squad built an 11-point lead in the third quarter.

That separation became Ginebra’s biggest cushion in the game, and San Miguel once again had their backs against the wall with only 12 minutes remaining in the classic matchup.

San Miguel’s head coach Leo Austria kicked off SMB’s adjustments by going to a hard zone defensive scheme in hopes of containing Ginebra’s lights out shooting from downtown.

During that third quarter rampage, the Gin Kings torched the Beermen from the three-point area at will as the trio of Scottie Thompson, Stephen Holt, and RJ Abarrientos were guns blazing.

There was just nothing that the Beermen could do, as Ginebra’s 29-21 third-quarter advantage sucked the life out of them, but a new lease on life was made possible by Ross, who anchored the SMB defense when they leaned on their zone.

In just a span of three minutes, Ross was able to deflect several passes in Ginebra’s attempted paint dime in the shaded lane, resulting to quick baskets from Don Trollano and Jericho Cruz.

Ross registered two steals during that sequence, and the duo of Cruz and Trollano gifted his defensive prowess with a barrage of daredevil drives to equalize the ball game at 77-all.

After playing catch-up for the majority of the three frames, Trollano put SMB in the driver’s seat with a deuce, followed by another Cruz layup that ballooned their lead to four points, 81-77.

All of a sudden, it was Ginebra who entered emergency zone as they didn’t open up new opportunities and scoring looks for their shooters when the Beermen went zone.

Those defensive stops won’t be possible without Ross, who was manning their defensive scheme at the top of the key, playing like a quarterback who directed traffic in everything that the Beermen executed.

Ginebra provided answers in the final five minutes of the ball game after Holt and Jamie Malonzo got into a little rhythm that pulled the Gin Kings to within four points, 93-89.

However, the rejuvenated San Miguel squad banked on June Mar Fajardo’s dominance underneath with a foul-counted play that extended their lead to seven points, 96-89.

With only 2:10 remaining in the game and Ginebra in a must-score situation, Ross made the biggest steal of the ball game after swiping away the leather from Holt who looked to attack the basket.

After deflecting the ball, Ross took off to the other side of the court and made a clutch layup that put the Beermen up by nine points, 98-89.

Malonzo fired back with a huge four-pointer, but the Beermen milked the clock wisely, resulting to a foul on Ross who calmly sank the two most important shots from the charity stripe.

Ross capped off his heroic performance with 19 points, seven assists, four steals, and three rebounds in 28 minutes of action, his most logged in playing time during the seven-game semifinal series.

“No one competes harder than me. No one plays harder than me. The will to win, I’ve always had it,” added Ross.

Fajardo, who survived an injury scare late in the second quarter after a tight hamstring, finished the Game 7 dub with a monster double-double of 21 markers and 19 rebounds.

Awaiting San Miguel in the PBA Philippine Cup grand finals is the well-rested TNT Tropang 5G which knocked out the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the other bracket.

Can the Beermen prevent TNT’s aspirations of a rare Grand Slam feat? Or will the Tropang 5G defy the odds once again and win their third consecutive PBA championship title?