CJ Perez felt relief after regaining his mojo after playing an instrumental role in saving San Miguel in Game Six of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Friday night.
Silenced in the last three games, the former two-time scoring champion dropped 20 points on a 53.8-percent clip from the field as he starred in the Beermen’s early breakaway en route to blowing out a depleted TNT, 114-96.
He made 11 of his output in the opening frame alone, joining hands with Marcio Lassiter and Mo Tautuaa to lead a 40-point explosion that set the tone for the one-sided affair as SMB went on to force a Game Seven.
“Matagal ko nang sinasabi sa sarili ko na ‘yung pagiging aggressive ko talaga sa opensa at depensa, ‘yun ‘yung nawala nung mga nakaraang game e,” offered Perez moments after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
It was the 28-year-old’s first time to score 20 in a while after submitting subpar numbers since making 23 markers in Game Two last August 24.
He only scored a total of 34 points in the last three matches, including just 10 in their Game Five loss two nights ago that saw them fall 2-3 in the series.
“‘Yun nga, parang nanibago ako, parang ‘di normal … parang ‘di ‘yun ‘yung laro ko talaga e,” said Perez of that stretch.
“Nag-focus lang ako, and ni-recognize ko kung ano ‘yung nangyayari. Ayun, nakatulong ‘yun.”
Thus, the satisfaction on his part to get his touch back in a game as crucial as Friday’s. However, he’s all the more proud with the other Beermen who stepped up in the victory such as Lassiter and Simon Enciso.
After having just four points last Game Five, the decorated wingman tallied a team-high 22 points. Enciso, on the other hand, had 20 markers, as the two combined for 12 of SMB’s 16 three-pointers in the win.
“Malaking bagay sa’min ‘yun, sina Simon, Marcio making their shots. Malaking bagay ‘yun kasi talagang naka-focus ‘yung depensa kay June Mar,” said Perez.
Now, the NCAA Season 93 MVP out of Lyceum hopes that the rest of San Miguel will be able to replicate — or perhaps kick it up a notch higher — such a remarkable collective performance come Game Seven on Sunday.
“Hopefully next game, ganun pa rin ‘yung ilaro nila — lahat kami, lahat ng mga nag-contribute ngayong araw, ganun pa rin ‘yung ilaro sa next game,” said Perez, who’s bound for his first-ever Finals Game Seven.
“Basta bigay lahat namin ‘yung best namin, best effort namin, hopefully talaga makuha namin ‘yung first championship.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
