Chris Ross named playing assistant Coach for San Miguel

CNN Philippines

Chris Ross will be doing double duties for the San Miguel beermen very soon.  The defensive ace is named the team's playing assistant coach when the PBA Commissioner's Cup tips off November fifth.  Joining us to go all out on this story is none other than Chris Ross.   Visit our website for more #NewsYouCanTrust: https://www.cnnphilippines.com/  Follow our social media pages:  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CNNPhilippines • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cnnphilippines/ • Twitter: https://twitter.com/cnnphilippines

Transcript

00:00 Chris Ross will be doing double duties for the San Miguel Behrman very very

00:04 soon. The defensive superstar is named. The team's playing assistant coach went

00:09 to PBA Commissioner's Cup. Tips off November 5th. Joining us to go all out

00:13 on this story is none other than PBA superstar himself, there he is, one of my

00:18 favorite players and he knows that. See Ross, Chris Ross, joining us live via

00:23 Zoom. Wow, I like that effect. Who did that? Did I do that? I think so.

00:30 But your hands are up there. Good evening buddy, great to have you again on

00:36 the show. Should I start calling you Coach Chris from now on? I mean some of

00:42 my teammates been joking with me calling me Coach Chris so yeah I'm still

00:47 playing so just I'm good with Chris for now. Buddy, before we get to the

00:53 conversation, I know I told you before we went on air earlier I was messaging

00:58 with you the topics. How about your San Antonio's first man? I know you're born

01:02 and raised in San Antonio. We were messaging earlier. What can you say about

01:06 the first game when Bonyama losing to Luka and the Dallas Mavericks? I mean

01:13 he's still young. He had a, it wasn't a shaky debut but he was in foul

01:19 trouble. I think there was a little bit of nerves there for him which is

01:22 understandable but I saw a crazy stat that he had the same exact numbers that

01:28 Tim Duncan did in his debut so if that's anything to tell us like

01:33 for the next 20 years we'll be a-okay. Well now let's get back to you

01:38 Coach Chris. You've spent 13 years as a player. What, entering your 14th season

01:46 now? Am I correct? You were drafted in '08. I don't even know. I think I

01:51 lost count like five years ago. I saw your post. I mean 13, 14, or 15. One of those.

01:57 Well here are your highlights. Our producer prepared this fantastic graphic

02:02 we have on her screen. 542 games bro. Here are your averages. Close to seven in your

02:07 whole career. Points a game, four boards, five assists, almost two steals per game.

02:12 Your career highlights and accomplishments. Of course, nine-time PBA

02:16 champion, two-time finals MVP, five-time PBA All-Star, two-time Defensive Player of

02:21 the Year, seven-time All-Defensive Team, 17-time PBA Mythical First Team, all 2017

02:27 that is, not 17th time, best player of the conference back in 2017, the

02:31 Commissioner's Cup where you were the most improved player. Looking at your

02:35 accolades, Coach Chris, what made you decide to accept the offer of taking on

02:42 the responsibility of an assistant coach and why just now? Um, honestly, I feel

02:51 like when I'm done playing, coaching will probably be the next step for me and I

02:56 know that the end of my playing career is not, it's not coming to an end right

03:03 now, but it's, I'm near that, I'm closer to the end than I am at the beginning. So

03:07 I had a good talk with Boss Al and he told me that he, he just, he, he

03:13 appreciates what I've brought to this team, to the company, him and both RSA.

03:17 They said that when, whenever I'm done playing, whenever I decide, whenever that

03:21 time comes, that they want me to have the opportunity to step right in and have a

03:26 job right away. So I was very grateful for them and I've been grateful for them.

03:30 I've told them that they've, they've literally changed my life. So just this,

03:36 getting this opportunity, it's, it's, it's pretty big time because I don't know

03:40 how many players, active players have had the title of being an assistant coach.

03:45 So it's definitely a blessing. Yeah, not a lot of people can say that. Well, when

03:51 the news of you being an assistant coach came out on Twitter, one of the players,

03:54 I was actually excited for you, but one of the players that was really excited

03:58 was former Bay Area Dragons import. I'm sure you've seen it by now, C. Ross,

04:02 Miles Powell and Miles even said, you saw that, right? Miles even said that he

04:08 will play for SMB if you become head coach. What are your thoughts on that? And

04:14 have you talked to Miles about that and the possibility of, you know, playing for

04:19 you guys for SMB this season? Yeah, Miles is my guy, man. I mean, we, we, we built

04:25 a great relationship when he got here and he's, he's been like, I thought there

04:32 was going to be a chance for him to come play for us, but obviously China, the CBA

04:37 is high on his list and obviously getting back in the NBA is, but as soon

04:42 as he saw that tweet, he messaged me on Instagram and told me to check his tweet

04:46 and I saw it and I said, Hey man, if it ever happens, we got to make it happen.

04:49 But Miles is my guy. He's an amazing player. He's a great player. He was, he

04:53 was explosive when he was here. Yeah. And if that opportunity ever, ever arises,

04:58 maybe we can make it happen. But, that's, that's a lot further down the line.

05:03 Yeah. Just drop one play. ISO.

05:06 Clear out.

05:09 As an assistant coach, I also want to get your thoughts on your new teammates.

05:15 Well, specifically, Jerron Tang, having JT now with you guys, as I said, when I

05:22 talked to him, when I got to interview JT, he was here on the show, the rich

05:25 get richer with SMB getting Jerron Tang, your thoughts on, uh, on adding a

05:30 player like Jerron Tang, who's young at his prime and you've been practicing

05:34 with a guy already.

05:35 Yeah. I mean, JT he's, uh, he's, I love JT, man. He's only been with us for

05:43 about a week, but he's, he's learning. He's listening. He's like, every time I

05:48 have something to say to him, he's looking at me straight in my eyes and

05:51 kind of taking in everything that I'm telling him. And he's, he's, he's a

05:54 willing learner. He plays hard. He's, he's establishing this. He doesn't have

06:00 anything else to prove. And from, from some of the articles I've been reading

06:04 from him saying that he's, he's willing to do whatever it takes to his goal is

06:08 to help win a championship. And he's showing that in practice, he's, he's

06:11 defending, he's rebounding, he's sharing the ball and he's a great addition for

06:15 us. And, uh, I'm excited for him going forward, uh, being part of our

06:19 franchise.

06:19 Well, coach Chris C. Ross, you're also a part of that historic US

06:23 Filipina steam in the 19th Asian games in China. Well, I was telling you not a

06:28 lot, not everybody, not a lot of players can say, well, you want to see games

06:32 gold and the Asian games called the historic Asian games gold all in one

06:35 year. Let's talk about that after the break, but for now I'm going to quiz

06:39 you, buddy. So listen up, let's take a look at our quiz question of the day.

06:44 Chris Ross is the fourth player in PBA history to record at least 1000 career

06:50 steals. Now who are the other three props to Fidel Mangonon for this

06:55 particular question? You know the answer? Well, save that for later, Chris. Okay.

07:01 We'll take a really quick time out. I know. I think I know. Hold up. Yeah.

07:05 Yeah. Save it for later, buddy. We'll check out the rest of the results from

07:09 around the NBA as we take a really quick break. SportsS we'll be right back

07:14 only here on CNN Philippines. Stay tuned. SportsS only here on CNN Philippines

07:18 and our guest today, Chris Ross playing assistant coach for the San Miguel

07:23 Behrman. C. Ross, let's talk about GILAS PILIPINAS now. It took you a long time

07:29 before you finally got to play for the national team, but since 2019, you have

07:34 won three gold medals, two in the SEA Games and of course, that historic

07:39 Asian Games gold. You weren't even part of the initial. You were one of the

07:43 replacements who came in and then all of a sudden it's like you've been winning

07:48 gold. You and Marshall like winning, winning gold this year, man. Let's talk

07:52 about that. Like what's it like, you know, and you're also, you know, the

07:56 vocal leader of that team. But what's it like? Tell me about it, Chris, like

08:00 winning the SEA Games gold and of course, that Asian Games historic gold

08:03 medal, man.

08:06 Man, it was surreal, man, honestly. But just being with those guys, we built a

08:14 super strong brotherhood in such a short time. I don't know if it was from

08:19 because half of us played together in the SEA Games, but there was a nice

08:24 amount of people that didn't play in the SEA Games with us, but we really built

08:27 a great bond and just being with the guys every day and for me, not

08:34 necessarily, we weren't, I wasn't a part of the original 12 and then being a

08:38 replacement. I just think it was a blessing in disguise because I think two

08:43 days into the camp, Coach Tim named me co-captain with Jaffe and I was kind of

08:49 surprised at that because knowing the guys that have been there for a while,

08:52 but Coach Tim had to trust in me and to name me the team captain. But those

08:57 guys were all professional. Those guys were, you could tell we were all, we had

09:02 one goal in mind and that Jordan game, the first Jordan game when we lost, it

09:07 actually made us stronger and I felt like when that happened to us, I felt

09:11 like it was similar to what happened in the SEA Games because we lost to

09:15 Cambodia early and then we said that if we were to play them again, we would win

09:19 and that was the same thing that happened in the Asian Games. We thought

09:22 that if we were able to play Jordan again, we would win. Not knowing that we

09:27 had to climb that China Mountain because that was a very tough team and being

09:32 down 20 early, but the guys were up to the challenge, man. I mean, Justin was

09:37 amazing. Not only Justin, but I mean, everyone was amazing. Scotty played well.

09:41 Kevin came in and gave us great minutes. I mean, Newsome, I mean, everyone that

09:45 was in the game, even guys that didn't get in were amazing and we needed

09:49 everybody for that game and then when we got to Jordan, I kind of knew that we

09:54 were going to win. I even told the guys before the semi-final match, the China

09:58 game, that if we won that, that would be the, that's pretty much the gold medal

10:01 game. I didn't want to be too confident, but I was confident in my guys that if

10:07 we were to get past China, we would be able to adjust and get past Jordan.

10:12 Yeah, well, that was a great campaign and that you said it yourself, you have this

10:18 bond already and I was looking at the players' pictures, media day and just

10:22 seeing the closest bond, this group will forever have that special bond that you

10:27 won that historic Asian Games after what, six decades for the Philippines. So,

10:32 C. Ross, you have nine championships, as I said, you're a nine-time PBA

10:38 champion, including that miracle back in 2016 when you came back down 0-3

10:44 against Alaska. Then you were part of that Death 5, winning so many

10:48 championships, but where do you put this among everything, all, everything

10:54 that you've won, man, where do you put this particular Asian Games gold? Just

10:57 this Asian Games gold, where do you rank it, put it? I mean, I'll tell you this too,

11:03 we had a players-only meeting the night before the gold medal match and I sat in

11:09 front of everyone, the other 11 guys on the team and told them that, I said, I've

11:15 won nine championships, we've been part of, I've been part of some amazing, great

11:18 teams, but if we win tomorrow, if we win the gold, it has to jump to the top

11:23 because I told the guys that none of our contemporaries, none of the guys that

11:26 we've played with in the PBA have won gold at the Asian Games. So, that would

11:31 set us 12 apart from everyone else that is in the PBA. So, I mean, there's been

11:37 guys that, like JD, JD has nine championships, Rafi Revis has, I don't

11:42 know how many championships he has, there's multiple guys that have as

11:46 many championships or close to me or even more than I have in PBA, but none

11:52 of them have gold medal, Asian Games gold medal, so this has the rank up at the top

11:56 for me. Let's talk about your career, man, just an illustrious career, definitely a

12:01 Hall of Fame career. You were drafted back in '09, first round, third overall

12:07 pick, by then the Burger King Whoppers. You played for Coca-Cola, for Santa

12:12 Lucia, for Maralco, for Petron San Miguel, and of course now you're an assistant.

12:17 And we showed here your accomplishments and your averages on the screen. Looking

12:23 back, okay, we set aside, you mentioned how special that gold medal is, none of your

12:29 contemporaries have that, that, you know, the bragging rights, but you, looking at

12:34 the highlights or the page, what is your favorite or something that you will, you

12:39 know, you will always tell your kids, your grandkids? I know you're not retiring yet,

12:44 I'm just asking you. No, I mean, I still, yeah, let's get that, let's get, let's let

12:50 people know about that. I got a couple years left in me before I actually retire. For sure.

12:54 But I think, I think the most, what I would tell my kids and grandkids would be

13:02 that I just didn't give up. I remember the day I got drafted. I won't say who, but

13:13 who, someone that was doing the draft said that there's only one guy in this draft

13:19 that would last long in the PBA. And they were talking about Joppa. I don't know, was it

13:26 Joppa or Rico? I just, when they said that, my mind went blank. But they said that only

13:33 one guy in our draft would last long. And I had a rocky rookie season. I got traded

13:39 after, at the end of my rookie year. And it was like someone gave up on me. I had no one,

13:45 I've always been a really good player, like throughout my teams and throughout my career.

13:49 And this was the first time that someone gave up on me so quick. And I learned that being

13:55 a pro is, it's a business and you gotta produce. So from being given up on my first

14:01 year to now being in my, I guess it's my 14th or 15th year, I would just tell my kids

14:07 and my grandkids that I didn't quit when people gave up on me.

14:10 I agree. I agree. 38. So you said two years? Do you still see yourself two years, three

14:17 or more years?

14:18 Yeah, my goal coming in was, I played 10 years, so now I passed 10. Now that I'm getting

14:24 close to 40, I told myself I'll try to play until I'm 40. So another two years.

14:29 Yeah, I don't doubt that, man. What do you want to tell all the fans, all the SMB fans

14:34 and all the Chris Ross fans before we go to our, the answer to the quiz question of the

14:38 day? Go ahead.

14:39 I'm just, I appreciate you guys. It's been a long journey. You guys have been with me

14:47 through my whole career and hopefully I put smiles on your faces. I know, I know you guys,

14:56 I know I didn't play well all the time, but when I did, I hope, I hope I made you guys

14:59 proud. I'm not done yet, man. I got, I got a couple more years left in me and hopefully

15:05 we can add a couple more championships to that, to that resume. So it's been a long

15:11 journey, but stay buckled up. There's still more to come.

15:15 Now time to find out the answer to our quiz question of the day. And I think you know

15:20 the answer, man. If you get this, you know, copy on me or a meal or whatever, I'll send

15:26 it your way. Chris Ross, the fourth player in PBA history to record at least 1000 career

15:30 steals. Name me the other three if you can. See Ross, go ahead.

15:36 Johnny A is one for sure. I think Ramon Fernandez.

15:45 That's two. And Robert Jaworski.

15:52 Let's find out the correct answers. Honors, Chris, you got El Presidente Ramon Fernandez

15:57 and a flying A, Johnny Varientos. Bernie Fabiosa is the other. Yes, Chris Ross achieved by

16:05 the way the career highlight after tallying five steals in a loss of Berengue and Ebre

16:09 last March 29th in the PBA Governor's Cup semifinals. C. Ross is also the first PBA

16:14 player in two decades to record 1000 steals. Again, buddy, thank you for your time. Best

16:21 of luck, Coach Chris. Thank you. And by the way, I still have that jersey you gave me

16:25 at Acropolis, that practice jersey. It doesn't fit, but you know, I'm trying to trim down

16:28 so it fits me again. Thank you.

16:32 I got a game jersey for you now. So next time I see you, I'll get you a game jersey.

16:36 Yes, sir. Book it. Thank you. Thank you so much again. And also we'd like to thank PBA

16:41 Chiefs statistician Fidel Maonon for helping us, of course, with the quiz question of the

16:46 day. Thank you once again, Chris Ross, now playing assistant coach for the son Miguel

16:51 Bierman. See you, buddy.

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