San Miguel Beer guard CJ Perez.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines–CJ Perez seemed to have picked up where he left off from the PBA All-Star Game with his best performance in the early stages of the Philippine Cup.
The San Miguel Beer star finished with 32 points, four rebounds, five assists and two steals as the Beermen rolled to a 116-102 win over the Phoenix Fuel Masters to go 3-0 in the all-Filipino tournament.
Perez came into the contest averaging 8.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists, but fired 39 points on seven made attempts from the special four-point line to help Team Mark salvage a 140-all tie with Team Japeth in the previous Sunday’s exhibition classic in Bacolod City.
SCHEDULE: 2024 PBA Philippine Cup
“I’m just trying to be consistent because I don’t want to put into waste the trust of Coach Jorge [Gallent],” Perez said in Filipino. “I guess my confidence is on a high after the All-Star Game which is a big deal for me.”
He was one of the reasons for the Beermen pulling away from a 49-45 halftime lead, scoring seven while dishing out three in the third to keep the Commissioner’s Cup champions and reigning Philippine Cup titleholders perfect through outings.
Perez also finished the game making four of eight shots from three-point territory and broke his previous season-best of 28 that came in Game 6 of the Commissioner’s Cup Finals against Magnolia.
READ: Robert Bolick says CJ Perez should’ve been PBA All-Star Game MVP
It was in that game that Perez virtually cemented San Miguel’s title with a long triple.
Jericho Cruz, June Mar Fajardo, Don Trollano and Terrence Romeo were also part of San Miguel’s breakaway to assure themselves of being the league’s top team going into a key matchup with Barangay Ginebra.
San Miguel and Ginebra face off on Friday at the Big Dome.
“We’re just gonna play together to make sure that the flow of the game is better,” he said.
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