By REYNALD MAGALLON
CJ Perez assured that he’ll be ready to play in Game 4 on Friday, Feb. 9, shrugging off an injury scare late in San Miguel’s 88-80 Game 3 loss against Magnolia.
Perez went down for a count after stepping on Jio Jalalon’s foot after completing a steal and a transition dunk at the 11th minute mark of the final frame. The high flying SMB guard appeared to have tweaked his ankle but managed to get up and play through the rest of the contest.
“Okay naman siya pero titingnan ko pa mamaya kung paano pero di naman siya namaga,” said Perez after the game.
It was a huge sigh of relief for the Beermen who were already without Terrence Romeo due to a left ankle tendonitis. SMB also missed the services of backup guard Jericho Cruz who incurred his fifth technical foul in the conference in Game 2, leading to an automatic one-game suspension the next game.
With the two out of commission, Perez had to make an extra effort for SMB as he finished with 16 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Still, the energy was somewhat lacking for the Beermen as they were limited to just 80 points after exploding for an average of 106 points in their victories in Games 1 and 2.
“I think yung effort lang talaga kulang. Nakulangan kami sa efforts, sa defense and sa offense di kami nakakapag execute ng maayos so yun yung kailangan namin ayusin,” he added.
Magnolia’s fightback though hardly surprised San Miguel, knowing full well that the Hotshots won’t simply roll over and surrender the title to the Beermen.
“Kailangan lang namin talaga maglaro ng 110 percent. Kailangan tapatan yung energy ng Magnolia para manalo kami dito. Alam naman namin na hindi ibibigay ng Magnolia ng madali ito. Kailangan namin paghirapan,” he added.
