A rematch of the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup Finals is about to happen in the 2018 edition of the mid-season joust, as the defending champions San Miguel Beermen and the TNT Katropa will lock horns in the quarterfinals.
And Chris Ross is expecting an intense battle to take place in their best-of-three series, which will start on Monday.
“It’s gonna be a war.
“I know they were hoping that they face us sometime in the playoffs so I know it’s gonna be a battle,” said the all-around guard Saturday night, moments after their 97-101 loss to the Magnolia Hotshots.
All eyes are on the upcoming series to see the results.
When they faced each other last year in the championship round, it was a heartbreaker for the Texters. TNT were pressed to regain the Commissioner’s Cup they won in 2015, but the Beermen were just too strong overcome.
When they met this conference last June 16 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena, it was memorable for the wrong reasons, as scuffles and ejections took place. San Miguel also emerged victorious back then, 99-94.
“We beat them in the Finals last year and the game this conference was kinda chippy so we expect nothing less than a war,” said Ross, the reigning Commissioner’s Cup Best Player of the Conference.
“We’ll be ready and I’m sure they’ll be ready.”
However, even if they have the edge over the flagship MVP franchise, Ross remains wary.
“Every game’s different no matter if you beat a team by 30 points or if you beat them by one or if they beat you every game is different. You got to approach every game differently so there’s no psychological advantage,” he said.
“And there’s no physical advantage, we just gonna go out there and compete,” added the nine-year pro.
“We have one goal and that is to win a championship and I’m sure that’s their goal too. So, we’ll be ready on Monday.”
