As the confetti fell from the rafters following San Miguel Beermen's 2022 PBA Philippine Cup title conquest over TNT Tropang Giga, Chris Ross was in tears.
He had just been named Game 7's Player of the Game by the TV panel after scoring nine of his 12 points in the fourth quarter to help the Beermen surge past the Tropang Giga en route to their first PBA title in three years.
But as he was being interviewed, it became too much for him to bear.
"Losing my father, I never thought that would happen to me," he said, his voice cracking. "And losing him is like... he taught me basketball, he taught me how to be a man.
"All the stuff I've been through, and winning this for him, it's so good a feeling right now. I knew he was watching. I just hope I really made him proud."
When Ross suddenly and unexpectedly lost his father William last November, it felt like the world had caved in on him. He spent two months in the United States to grieve with his family, missing the San Miguel Beermen's first five games of the 2021-22 PBA Governors' Cup.
He was so despondent that he seriously thought about retiring.
"To say the least, it was the hardest time of my life," he told a group of reporters after he had celebrated with his teammates, showered and settled down.
"The absolute hardest time of my life. I thought about it (retiring). I really thought about calling Boss Al (SMC sports director Alfrancis Chua) and saying, 'Hey boss. I don't have anything left.'
"But I know that's not what my dad would have wanted. My dad was a fighter his whole life. He was a warrior his whole life. And he would want me to come out here and do what I love and make him proud. Once I got the strength to do that, I came back out here.
"I was in the room with him until his last breath. Me growing up with my dad, I thought he was Superman.
"He never complained about anything. He was working since he was 12 years old. That's the strength that I got from him. He was Superman when I lost him.
"It was crushing for me. It was absolutely crushing for me. But I just had to be strong for him, not only for him but also for my mom and my siblings and my nieces and nephews."
It wasn't an easy conference for Ross. Three games into the Philippine Cup, he injured his knee against the Magnolia Hotshots, forcing him to miss eight games.
Luckily for him, his mother Virginia was in town.
"Unfortunately I got injured and I wasn't able to have a healthy conference. I worked so far before this conference with my trainer," he recalled.
"I worked so hard to get in shape. The first few games of this conference I was really playing well and I got hurt and went down."
"When I went down, she (his mother) was here. It was a blessing in disguise.
"She really took care of me. She calls me before every game. She called me right before this game saying she wasn't gonna sleep she was just gonna stay up and watch with her friends. I told her I was gonna make her proud."
Aside from his knee, Ross had also been playing with an injured hand since Game 3 of the finals, as he revealed: "My knee is still not 100% and I tried to just get out there. Actually that game in MOA (Mall of Asia Arena) when I got that steal at the end, I think I broke something in my hand.
"I didn't get it checked because the only thing they can tell me is that I had to sit out.
"I felt like I just couldn't catch a break. Something just kept happening and kept happening and kept happening. I pulled my strength from my dad and mom and just kept braving it and fighting through it to try to be there for my team."
At one point, the Beermen were down 3-2 in the finals, needing to win two in a row. This was when Ross received a sign that everything was going to be okay.
"I actually had a dream about (my dad) before Game 6. I was taking a nap before the game. This is my first time telling anyone this.
"So what I usually do when I dream about my dad is I wake up and I write it in my notes just so I will remember it. So he was in the bed with me and he goes, 'Son, let's go shopping tomorrow.' I go, 'All right. Let me win some money first then we'll go shopping.'
"So once I felt his presence I knew that something good was coming and he was definitely with me."
The world is a different place from when San Miguel last won a PBA championship in 2019.
The team itself hardly looks like the one that won five straight Philippine Cup crowns.
The parallelisms aren't lost on Ross, who admitted: "It feel like so long that we won our last one, right? So much in the world has happened.
"We were all stuck in our houses, (teammate) June Mar (Fajardo) broke his leg, me and June Mar both lost a parent. So much has gone on since we last became champions. It just makes this that much sweeter.
"We lost two teammates (Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos, who were both traded). So much has changed and it feels so good, not only to win for ourselves but to win for the guys that haven't won, the new guys on our team."
The Commissioner's Cup opens on Sep. 21, and depending on the results of his medical check-up, Ross may or not be ready by then.
But he is hopeful for the future, stressing: "We definitely have the tools to do it. We injected some youth. June Mar's back healthy. And I know how it goes.
"Once you win one, the hunger for another is there. Now that these guys have tasted a championship, they're gonna be even hungrier to win again.
"We've got a good import coming in. Hopefully he meshes well with the team. Hopefully we can try to get another one next conference."
Ross is optimistic about what lies ahead. For now, though, he will savor the events of Sunday night, when his father became his Superman one last time.
"My emotions got the best of me after that win because I knew he was on the court for me," he he said. "There's no other way to explain it.
"I knew my dad was out there with me and I felt his presence."