Jason Perkins was slapped with a technical foul in the second quarter of Cignal-San Beda HD Hawkeyes’ Finals Game 1 clash with Racal Ceramica on Thursday afternoon, but the call did not slow him down — it even fired him up.
“I just disagreed with the calls,” admitted Perkins with the technical foul he received, moments after their 95-83 victory to earn a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three title series.
“I just got upset.”
The 24-year-old used this as fuel. He already had 19 points just in the first half, and as the final buzzer sounded, Perkins finished with a game-high 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting and eight rebounds.
And the Minnesota-born cager is nothing but thankful for the support he received from his teammates, which not only led to his offensive outburst, but also to Cignal-San Beda’s series-leading win.
“My team has a good support system. I was so frustrated, but my teammates supported me and fired me up. My teammates were there for me,” said the six-foot-four forward.
“We have so many threats on the court like Pamboy [Raymundo], [Robert] Bolick, Harold [Arbodela], Ben [Adamos], so it really opens up the floor for everybody. It just happened to be my night tonight.”
“Everyone on the team made a great job of moving the ball around and playing together. It’s all on the team,” iterated the product of the De La Salle University program.
The HD Hawkeyes had actually led by as much as 21, only to let it slip in the final frame that saw Racal close within five. They staved off the Tile Master though, and for Perkins, the resiliency they displayed will help them heading into Game 2.
“I’m excited because we know they’re gonna come back strong so it should be a fun game,” he shared.
“That fourth quarter is gonna help us in the next game because they showed us what we need to work on.”
