During Game One of the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals series, Chris Ross and Terrence Jones were at it.
Three days later, at the same venue, the two clashed again.
Ross – who stands at 6-foot-1 and has the feistiness of a pitbull – came at Jones, who is at least eight inches taller than him. Ross even brought up Jones’ posts on social media just to get into his head.
“One of the players kept talking about my Instagram and I was like, ‘okay you follow me on Instagram. That’s cool bro’,” claimed Jones.
There was also a point in the second quarter when Ross laughed directly at Jones while Jones tried to press him.
Screencap from ESPN5
Still, Ross also got the last laugh against Jones during a crucial juncture in overtime on Wednesday.
With TNT holding a 114-111 lead with 21.0 seconds left, Ross fouled Jones to stop the clock. Accidentally or not, Jones clocked Ross with his right forearm that resulted in a technical foul — the import’s second.
Jones was then ejected from the game.
“You can pull my lip off if we win three more games,” claimed Ross.
San Miguel were able to extend the game into another overtime. Then with Jones out, June Mar Fajardo and the Beermen feasted in the paint to pick up a 127-125 win to tie the series.
And Ross will continue getting into Jones’ head the rest of the way.
“Finals, you gotta bring out everything. I’m not doing anything dirty. I’m not talking trash – I’m just playing mind games.
“So when the stakes are this high, you gotta bring out all the stops that you got, man,” the seven-time champion, who had 25 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals shared. “So I mean… I did it in the playoffs with [Robert] Bolick and talked to him after. Same with [Rey] Nambatac and [Javee] Mocon in the semifinals. And I’ve done it with this group before too.
“They know me. This league knows what I do – I’m doing anything I can to help my team win,” he continued.
To close, Ross gave a piece of advice to Jones.
“So, I mean, he’s a great player. You gotta play some mind games. I’mma play mind games out there, and if he’s not mentally strong enough for it, then that’s his fault.”
