Jason Perkins’ bid to win this season’s Rookie of the Year honors received a huge boost on Friday evening.
The De La Salle University product had 22 points on 10-of-12 shooting along with five rebounds to lead the Phoenix Fuel Masters’ 112-82 whitewashing of the TNT KaTropa to rake in their third win in four games in the 2018 Governors’ Cup.
Perkins has emerged a favorite to win the plum, as Kiefer Ravena and Christian Standhardinger are no longer qualified – the former is serving his FIBA suspension, while Standhardinger missed the entirety of the Philippine Cup.
But the 6-foot-3 forward isn’t taking all the limelight, even with his career second-best outing, saying that it’s his teammates who make him look good.
“They do a great job of finding the open man… They doubling up Matt [Wright] off the screens, they’re doubling Eugene [Phelps] in the post. They’re doing a good job of passing the ball well. Our jobs are easy,” said the 25-year-old Perkins.
“It’s just open shots. We’re just passing the ball.”
Ball movement definitely played a major part for the Fuel Masters in their dominant showing versus TNT. Phoenix dished out a whopping 32 assists, a far cry from the 15 dimes their counterparts made.
And for Perkins, it’s all a result of the team’s good chemistry, even if they have a new addition in Calvin Abueva.
“Now that this is our third conference, we’re really comfortable with each other.
“It’s pretty much we have good chemistry – we pass the ball around, talk to each other, and the older guys are doing a great job leading,” he said.
