CJ Perez made sure to give the TNT KaTropa a hard time, especially down the stretch, Saturday night.
The rookie out of Lyceum carried much of the offensive load for Columbian during the final frame. His three-pointer with 59.4 seconds left even lifted the Dyip to within three, 120-123.
Perez then showed his defensive wares moments later when he stole the ball from Don Trollano.
He gave it to Rashawn McCarthy, though the latter missed his layup. Columbian still managed to get the ball back, but Perez suddenly hoisted up an off-balance shot with 17 seconds left.
His shot missed, and that was the beginning of the end of Columbian’s gallant fightback.
Khapri Alston fouled Roger Pogoy seconds later, and the third-year guard did not waste the opportunity to ice the game. He sank his freebies to give TNT a 125-120 win to go 4-0.
Asked about the sequence after his steal, Perez said that they should have handled the situation better, maybe even called a timeout since they had two more left.
“Nakuha namin yung offensive rebound, dapat tumawag kami ng timeout or nilabas ko na lang,” said Perez, who had 23 points — 13 in the fourth — seven rebounds, and three assists in the loss.
“Nakita ko kasi na may bumangga sa’kin kaya tinira ko,” added Perez as he had tried to bait a foul from Pogoy, who had attempted to strip him of the ball the moment he got the leather.
It was a difficult loss, dropping Columbian to 2-2. Still, Perez is charging it to experience.
“Siyempre matututo kami dito sa mga ganitong bagay. ‘Di lang minsan ‘to mangyayari, for sure. May mga susunod pa. At least sa susunod, alam na namin kung anong gagawin.”
