San Miguel head coach Leo Austria lauded the energy CJ Perez provided that helped conquer reigning PBA Governors’ Cup kings Ginebra on Sunday night.
The reigning, two-time scoring champ unloaded 23 points on a 50-percent clip, together with five steals as the Beermen left the SMART Araneta Coliseum with the 110-102 victory in the bag to return to the win column.
He already had 13 points in the first 24 minutes but was even more felt in the second half as he helped his side take control in the third chapter.
Perez also played a key role in closing the opposition out. He disrupted the Gin Kings’ fastbreak for his last steal of the game, then collected another assist as it led to an easy Orlando Johnson bucket for the dagger, 108-100.
“That’s the reason why we want him,” said the champion mentor moments after the match, “dahil energy seems lacking in us since noong three years back pa dahil ‘yung wear and tear ng team namin.”
It was actually Perez’ best scoring outing in the conference thus far. Prior to Sunday, he was averaging 12.8 points, including a lowly six-point outing in the 81-96 beatdown they received from TNT last Wednesday.
“A lot of the members of the team are expecting CJ, that he will be having a breakout game. But it’s hard for him to show the expectation of the crowd, because of the depth of the team,” Austria offered about his young ward.
Thus, the satisfaction on the part of the four-time Coach of the Year to see the former no. 1 pick turn in such a fine performance.
“I think ‘yung expectation sa kanya, nakita naman natin kanina eh, ‘yung energy niya,” said Austria, who got Perez via trade last year.
That game from the former NCAA MVP with Lyceum couldn’t have come at a better time, for it was an important match for San Miguel.
“Actually this game, before the start, I told them team na this is a very important game for us, because of the standings,” said Austria, as SMB was 3-3 prior and sitting at seventh.
“So, with a few games left, this game is very important.”
—
All PBA games stream live on GigaPlay. Download it now on Android or IOS.
The second game of each playdate is also livestreamed on SMART Sports.
