CJ Perez offered no excuses after missing the potential game-tying basket during the closing moments of San Miguel’s eventual defeat to Meralco in Game 3 of the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday night.
The Beermen were facing a 91-89 deficit with 34.1 seconds left to play and the star guard had a good chance to even things up.
However, his attempt to flip it in following an up-and-under move against Cliff Hodge came up short.
Soon, he would be giving up a duty foul on Chris Newsome and his counterpart sealed the deal with his free throws, leaving SMB down 1-2 in the series.
“Talagang nabitin lang. Talagang mintis siya,” Perez told reporters moments after the 93-89 loss at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“Wala akong excuse doon. Sa susunod maipapasok ko ‘yun, for sure.”
Perez finished with 18 points but it was a rough night for him overall.
Tough break for the San Miguel Beermen on that possession
🎥 @JustineBacnis /Tiebreaker Times #PBA2024 pic.twitter.com/DbYHJPBHKF
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) June 9, 2024
Aside from shooting only 6-of-19 from the field and going 5-of-11 from the charity stripe – including two misses at the 1:34-mark, foul trouble hounded him again.
He already had three fouls in the first half, giving the Beermen problems as two of their stars were saddled with foul woes early.
June Mar Fajardo already had three as well, incurring them all in just his first nine minutes in the game.
“Maraming schemes na ginagawa, pero it’s just me. Nakapag-ready sila nang maayos and hindi ako nakapag-adjust,” said Perez, who was coming off a playoff career-high performance with 34 points back in Game 2.
But unlike in Game 1, the one-time BPC wasn’t sweating the foul issue as much, saying that it allowed others like Jeron Teng and Jericho Cruz to perform. Teng had 10 points while Cruz added seven as both came off the bench.
“Actually, ‘di naman siya ganoong naka-apekto kasi napaganda nga eh, sina Jeron nag step up, sina Jericho gumanda laro,” he offered.
Now it’s about regrouping in the next two days before going back into action in Game 4 on Wednesday at the Big Dome, where they aim to tie the series again.
“Malaking bagay sa’min ‘yon, ‘yong dalawang araw na pahinga. Lalo na kay June Mar,” Perez said.
“Talagang hirap na hirap si Kuya June, at kailangan niyang magpahinga. Kailangan din namin mag-adjust.”
