Blame ref, not me, says Ross
San Miguel Beer guard Chris Ross is washing his hands off the free throw controversy that marred the closing seconds of the thrilling PBA Philippine Cup game between the Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin kings Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I just went with the flow… they gave me the ball,” said Ross after SMB absorbed a 100-96 loss, its first after five straight wins.
With 4.5 seconds left to play during a fierce rebound play under the Beermen basket, SMB guard Chico Lanete was fouled by Sol Mercado with the Kings protecting a 98-95 lead.
Ross, who was meters away when Lanete was fouled, stood outCORPUS side the free throw line when referee Noy Guevarra handed him the ball. Ross’ name then blared out of the p.a. system.
On hearing the barker calling out his name for two free throws, Ross took the ball and shot the first of two assigned free throws. That’s when the game officials realized something was wrong and jumped in, slapping Ross with a technical for what the PBA called a ‘deliberate’ act.
Ginebra guard LA Tenorio converted the technical free throw that gave his team a 99-95 advantage.
PBA technical director Eric Castro said that under PBA rules, Ross’s actions automatically merit a technical foul, although he admitted that the referee likely was at fault too.
“To be honest, meron siguro kaming fault dun sa mga referees namin. I won’t deny it,” said Castro. “Pero again, the players know sino ang shooter talaga.”
Ross defended that what he did wasn’t deliberate.
“I stayed in my spot I was in the whole time and I wasn’t nowhere close to the play. The ref walks up to me, and hands me the ball, and the announcer says ‘Chris Ross at the free throw line’ so I shoot the ball. I mean, what else am I supposed to do?”
And he insisted the technical called on him was wrong.
“I don’t know what I was supposed to do. It’s obviously the ref’s fault, all three of them because they didn’t intervene, and they put the blame on me by giving me a technical.”