The last time Ross shot an airball from the foul line was in high school.
Chris Ross calmly walked towards the line amid defeaning jeers from Brgy. Ginebra San Miguel fans inside the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
With the San Miguel Beermen ahead by only a whisker with 11.1 ticks to go, Ross had to make both free throws to give his team a better chance of running away with a victory in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals opener on Wednesday.
His first shot hit nothing but air. The other one was short.
Fortunately for San Miguel, June Mar Fajardo split his shots a couple of plays later and Ginebra turned the ball over in the final possession. The Beermen won, 92-90.
What happened to the Beermen's captain?
No, Ross said he wasn’t nervous when he took those shots. After all, a player of his caliber, with multiple championships and a Best Player of the Conference award under his belt, has nerves of steel.
He later said he sustained pain in his right arm prior to those free throws.
“I got the rebound and uh, it felt like a cramp--I don't know if it's a cramp or a strain on my tricep. It just wouldn't go away,” he told reporters after the game.
“I was gonna try to call a timeout. I thought I could just shake it off but then that first shot, I shot it as hard as I could but barely hit the net. I literally shot it as hard as I could.”
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With much at stake in the series against the Gin Kings, Ross said he will have his arm checked on Thursday if the pain doesn’t go away. Either way, there’s no way he’s skipping Game 2 on Friday.
“I’m a warrior. I've played through all injuries. If it's not broken or fully torn, Imma play through it,” he said.
Ross and the Beermen are bracing for a Ginebra fightback come Friday at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“I’ve been around (Ginebra) coach Tim (Cone) long enough, I've been on his side a few times too and knowing what kind of adjustments he's gonna make and how he's gonna make his team fired up so we know we gotta be better on Friday,” he said.
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The game will be aired 4 p.m. on A2Z, PBA Rush, and the Pilipinas Live app.