CJ Perez picked up where he left off in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup, powering San Miguel anew to a victory that fanned the Beermen’s chances for the top four.
Coming off a stint for Gilas Pilipinas in the opening window of the FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, Perez was all business in the PBA return after a two-week hiatus.
The explosive guard poured in 33 points on 65 percent shooting – all in the first three quarters – to spearhead SMB’s comeback from 14-point down to a convincing 110-95 thrashing of TNT on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“I think habang tumatagal, ‘yun din ang pina-praktis ko,” Perez said of his 11 of 17 clip from the perimeter, an added arsenal to his drives to the basket. “They know I’m always gonna drive so … I think it’s not that consistent pero I’m still doing my best to be consistent with my outside shots.”
The 32-year-old out of Lyceum torched Tropang 5G with 17 points in the third quarter to anchor the 39-14 breakaway.
Perez spiced his night with 2 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal to propel the Beermen into their sixth straight win and 6-2 card overall.
After Rain or Shine’s 90-84 win over Converge on Sunday, San Miguel is in solo-second half a game ahead of Magnolia, FiberXers and NLEX all bunched up at 6-3 for the third-fourth spots.
It’s an all-important win for the Beermen, as the top four after the 11-game eliminations enjoy a twice-to-beat bonus over the lower four that will advance into the quarterfinals.
For his stellar game, Perez earned the PBA Press Corps Player of the Week citation for the period Dec. 5-7, beating Santi Santillan of the E-Painters, Calvin Abueva of
Titan Ultra, Jason Perkins of Phoenix, Zav Lucero of the Hotshots, and Juan Gomez de Liano of Converge for the weekly honors from scribes regulary covering the PBA beat.
