The big man position has long been a point of concern for defending champion Adamson University, especially after the departure of Vince Reyes and JC Bonzalida, who both moved on to the collegiate level.
Reyes and Bonzalida’s dominance in the paint was instrumental in the Baby Falcons’ success — ending a 31-year title drought in Season 86.
With their prized big men gone, longtime head coach Mike Fermin has leaned heavily on 6-foot-7 twin towers Allen Perez and Jireh Tumaneng.
However, the pressure to uphold the standard set by Reyes and Bonzalida has weighed heavily on Perez, who forms part of the Baby Falcons’ Gilas Youth trio alongside explosive guard Mark Esperanza and 3-and-D standout Earl Medina.
While Esperanza and Medina have been bright spots in Adamson’s title defense, Perez’s inconsistency and occasional jitters have been a growing concern.
This was evident as the Baby Falcons fell to 4-5 and slipped to fourth place following a humbling 71-49 loss to the NU-Nazareth School Bullpups last Sunday.
Despite his struggles, Fermin never wavered in his belief that Perez would rise to the occasion when it mattered most.
On Thursday afternoon, the 18-year-old center repaid his coach’s trust.
He delivered a breakout performance in Adamson’s 84-67 bounce-back win over the UP Integrated School Fighting Maroons in the UAAP Season 87 Boys’ Basketball Tournament at the Filoil EcoOil Centre.
(C) UAAP Season 87 Media Team
Perez erupted for a season-high 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting while also grabbing three rebounds. The victory — combined with De La Salle Zobel’s 86-60 loss to NUNS and UE’s shocking 64-56 defeat to Ateneo — allowed the Baby Falcons to take sole possession of fourth place with a 5-5 record.
“Masaya ako sa win and sa performance ko pero dapat hindi kami mag-relax kasi yung next four games namin, very important. These next games will define kung sino makakapasok sa Final Four, at gusto ko isa kami sa mga teams na makakatawid papunta sa playoffs,” said Perez, who was raised in Milan, Italy, in an interview with Tiebreaker Times.
“Sabi nga niya sa akin na kailangan mo maging dominant. Inabsorb ko ‘yon ng buong-buo. Totoo naman, mas matangkad ako sa kanila, kaya I need to make my presence felt. Kahit sino naman yung kalaban, dapat every game, maging ganito ako para sa late push namin to defend the title and to hopefully enter the Final Four.”
With the Baby Falcons heading into a crucial stretch of elimination games, Fermin is hopeful that Perez will continue his dominant form.
Perez and company now brace for back-to-back matches against Final Four contenders La Salle Zobel, Far Eastern University-Diliman, University of Santo Tomas, and UE.
“With regards sa laro niya, he just made his presence felt and I hope he keeps making his presence felt lalo na sa next games namin. You’re taller sa mga kalaban mo kaya just make your presence felt and be dominant. Look at [Collins] Akowe, he’s dominant. To be at par with him, maging dominant ka rin,” Fermin emphasized.
