Leo Austria and CJ Perez did not allow their misunderstanding to get in the way of helping San Miguel chalk up another victory against TNT to regain the upper hand in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday night.
Both chose to let bygones be bygones after the Beermen head coach disclosed that they got into an argument early in Game 3, which they eventually took in dramatic fashion thanks to the late-game heroics of his prized guard.
“Earlier during the first half, nagkaroon kami ng kaunting altercation,” he said after their 95-89 win at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
“But I have to respect everybody because what I feel is gusto niyang manalo. But I want to let him know that I’m the coach of the team, they should respect me also. And then he apologized. It turned out na maganda ang nangyari.”
Reportedly, the spat happened when the defending champions lost hold of a 33-16 lead and allowed TNT to move ahead, 50-44, at the break.
Perez, entering the intermission, only had three points on 1-of-6 shooting, and the misunderstanding appeared to have stemmed from playing time.
“Kasi ang iniisip ng player, he wants to win — he wants to win by playing a lot of time. But as a coach, I know what’s happening,” said Austria.
(C) PBA Images
But the two were quick to patch things up and shifted all their attention back to the ball game, with Perez himself seemingly extra motivated after that.
“But knowing CJ, ibabalik at ibabalik ko siya,” said the multiple-time Coach of the Year.
“What happened was, because of that incident, na-refocus siya.”
The former three-time scoring king indeed refocused, and it showed in the fourth quarter, where he fired 17 of his team-high 20 points.
But what many will remember is his seven-point explosion inside the game’s final 41.8 seconds — all of which he earned from the arcs.
And Austria himself couldn’t be any prouder with how the former NCAA MVP out of Lyceum delivered, as he ultimately helped SMB take the 2-1 series lead.
“Nakita niyo naman kanina, talagang ayaw patalo. That’s the kind of player we want to have, especially in this kind of championship,” he said.
“Makikita niyo, ‘yung last possessions, lahat sa kanya ko binigay. Although that play wasn’t for him because we’re after a quick two or a quick three, he had the opportunity. And that kind of shot, ginagawa niya sa practice and sa game,” he added.
“That’s why nung pataas pa lang yung bola, palagay ko papasok ito. Nakinig yung nasa itaas natin. I’m so happy with his guts.”
Perez, who also went 6-for-6 from the floor in the fourth, said that he simply wanted to repay the trust given to him by the coaches — Austria, especially.
“Ginawa ko lang ‘yung makakaya kong gawin … Nag-respond lang ako sa kung ano yung binibigay sa akin na trust ng mga coaches,” he said.
#WATCH: GUSTO NIYANG MANALO 🏀
Leo Austria talks about CJ Perez and his wild endgame heroics for San Miguel during Game 3 of the #PBA50 Finals
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times pic.twitter.com/GKwXAs1OHQ
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) January 25, 2026
