Tim Cone hails Chris Ross as one of PBA's best leaders

Tim Cone has seen his fair share of great players and leaders in his nearly four decades in the PBA, but one name stands out among the rest.

The Barangay Ginebra head coach had nothing but praise for San Miguel's Chris Ross, highlighting the veteran guard's leadership and often-overlooked contributions to the Beermen despite their quarterfinals exit against Cone's Gin Kings in the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup.

Barangay Ginebra raced to a 2-0 lead in its best-of-five quarterfinals affair against San Miguel, but the Beermen fought back by winning the next two games to force a decider.

At several points there, San Miguel looked like it could complete the comeback and steal the series. Cone and Ginebra, however, stepped on the pedal in the fourth period to pull away en route to a 110-94 win on Tuesday.

For Cone, San Miguel would not have been in a position to mount that comeback without Ross' leadership, without taking anything away from nine-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and other stars like CJ Perez, Don Trollano, and Jericho Cruz.

Cone even went as far as comparing Ross to Robert Jaworski, the legendary Ginebra figure who was once the face of the franchise and Philippine basketball.

"Well, first of all, let me say something about San Miguel and especially Chris Ross. You know, June Mar has gotten his flowers for a number of years. But I think we have a tendency to disregard Chris Ross' contribution to that team as a leader," Cone said.

"I've been around for 36, 37 years now in the league. I've pretty much seen everybody. And except for the big J himself, I have not seen a better leader than Chris Ross as a player."

Incidentally, Cone's praise came days after Ross and longtime Ginebra deputy Olsen Racela figured in a verbal spat during halftime of Game 4 last Friday.

Ross, however, had the last laugh on the court, finishing with 20 points, nine assists, six rebounds, and five steals to help the Beermen stave off elimination and force a deciding Game 5. But he went cold in the deciding Game 5, finishing with just two points in 30 minutes of action as San Miguel eventually bowed out of the tournament.

Still, Cone made sure to give Ross his flowers, having seen his leadership during Gilas Pilipinas' historic gold-medal run in the Asian Games three years ago in Hangzhou, China.

"I got to see it firsthand because he led us to that Asian Games gold. He was the leader on that team and he led incredibly well," Cone said.

Cone also had high praise for Marcio Lassiter, whom he described as another longtime leader and quiet but reliable contributor to the San Miguel franchise.

"And then, you know, you have Marcio, who's the quiet assassin. They're like if anybody's watched a movie, they're like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Butch was the leader and Sundance Kid was that silent assassin. So they've been doing that for years and they just don't get old."

—JKC, GMA News