BACOLOD – CJ Perez said that Robert Bolick truly deserved co-MVP honors in the All-Star Game that capped off the PBA’s midseason extravaganza, Sunday.
The San Miguel guard offered as much after fans and netizens alike opined that he should’ve gotten the citation after putting on a monster performance, much to the delight of the sold-out crowd at the University of St. La Salle here.
“Berto deserved it,” he told reporters moments after the match that ended in a 140-all draw, only the third time in league history that an ASG ended in a tie.
Perez finished with 39 points, including 28 in the second alone to help Team Mark slowly get back into the match after being down by as many as 32. The 30-year-old already had 32 points to his name by the break.
Per PBA stats chief Fidel Mangonon III, his output in the said period is the most in a quarter since the All-Star Game was institutionalized in 1989, eight points clear of the previous record set by Arwind Santos in Calasiao in 2019.
But Bolick eventually earned co-MVP honors with Japeth Aguilar and Perez has no problem with it whatsoever, since his long-time pal pulled off undeniably one of the most spectacular plays in PBA All-Star Game history.
“Wala naman sa akin yung mga ganun. All-Star ‘to, kahit sino pwede maging MVP,” he said. “Kung ‘di niya na-shoot ‘yun, ‘di naman tatabla ‘yun.”
What Perez felt most elated about, really, was how Team Mark’s competitive fire got lit up after trailing by a very huge margin early in the game.
“Lumabas lang ‘yung pagka-competitive namin kasi ang hirap naman kung tatambakan kami ng singkwenta ‘di ba, tapos sa All-Star pa,” said the two-time All-Star. “Parang nakakahiya naman. Hindi na siya magiging fun.”
