Sweeping the elimination round of the PBA Philippine Cup could arguably be a mere formality for the talent-laden San Miguel Beermen.
But CJ Perez, whose consistent performance made him the latest winner of the PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week, cautioned that there’s still no assurance for the rampaging Beermen.
“Kailangan namin masustain yung nilalaro namin at maging consistent sa mga ginagawa namin sa practice at sa games,” said Perez, who got the weekly honor for the period of April 24 to 28 after two victories put all-Filipino titleholders at 9-0.
Perez and San Miguel enter the final week of the elims needing to beat Blackwater and Meralco to achieve the PBA’s first perfect elims slate since TNT won all nine games in the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup.
They’ll have to be as sharp as they were in their previous two games, which saw Perez leading SMB to wins over Magnolia and NLEX while averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals.
He scored 25 points and provided five assists in San Miguel’s 98-91 win over Magnolia last April 26, marking the first meeting of both teams since the Commissioner’s Cup Finals, which the Beermen claimed in six games.
Perez then contributed 30 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals two nights later as San Miguel dominated NLEX, 120-103, at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
“Siyempre, gusto ko maging consistent every game,” said Perez. “Kahit sinong team pa yan, kailangan ibigay ko yung best ko para manalo.”
Perez is the second straight San Miguel player to win the award given weekly by reporters tasked to cover the PBA beat after veteran Marcio Lassiter.
The Lyceum product was the unanimous choice over the likes of teammate June Mar Fajardo, Meralco’s Chris Newsome, Barangay Ginebra’s Christian Standhardinger, Terrafirma rookies Stephen Holt and Louie Sangalang, and TNT’s RR Pogoy.
