CJ Perez is bound for a rigorous stretch ahead but the young star has no qualms, even looking at it as a blessing especially after experiencing what life was like without basketball during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Para sa’min, isang blessing ‘to, na makakapaglaro kami ng madaming basketball,” said the San Miguel star.
“‘Di ba, dati, may pandemic, napatagal talaga ‘yung bakante na basketball. Ngayon, madaming basketball.”
Perez and the Beermen faced TNT in the PBA Governors’ Cup — which they lost — and after that will be the start of a busy three-week span for the two.
Together with Ginebra, the three ball clubs will be entering a break from the conference as some of their stars will be gearing up for Window 6 of the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers next week in Bulacan.
“Siyempre lahat kami committed dun sa Gilas talaga,” said the 29-year-old guard. “Gagawin namin ‘yung best namin para makapanalo ng games doon.”
After that, both San Miguel and the Tropang Giga will fly to Japan for the East Asia Super League Champions Week set on March 1-5, where they are up against some of the best clubs from Korea, Japan, and Taiwan.
But it won’t stop there for Perez and a select few. The following week will see the PBA head to Passi City, Iloilo for the 2023 All-Star Weekend.
There, the two-time scoring champion will be part of the awaited All-Star Game as he was among the 24 players voted in by the fans.
Rest and recovery are of extreme importance but then again, Perez is just thankful, and vowed that he’ll perform the best he can.
“We’re so blessed and grateful na makakapaglaro kami ng trabaho namin na gustong-gusto namin,” said the Pangasinan native.
“Siyempre, kailangan din talaga magpahinga, pero ‘yun nga, sa’min, bibigay lang talaga namin kasi mahal naman ‘tong basketball,” he closed.
Ball is life, as they say.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
