By NIKOLE JAVIER
Defending champion San Miguel is leaning on a two-day rest heading into Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco.
Down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, the Beermen just can’t seem to get ahead following their 93-89 Game 3 sorry loss against the Bolts on Sunday night, June 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Though CJ Perez along with fellow guard Marcio Lassiter teamed up to save San Miguel from falling to a 0-2 hole in the series, the same thing can’t be said in Game 3 that saw both of them commit endgame misses this time.
“It’s just ‘yung free throws eh. ‘Yung free throws talaga ‘yung pinaka crucial doon. We missed seven towards the end. ‘Yun ang story saka ‘yung offensive rebounds nila ang dami,” Perez said, who scattered 18 points that went with five rebounds and four steals.
Aside from the unmade free throws from Perez, the high-flying guard also couldn’t finish his drives to the basket including a potential game-tying layup with half a minute left in the game.
No excuses were offered as Perez just simply couldn’t pick up his slack towards the end, where everything always matters when it comes down to it.
“Maraming schemes silang ginagawa pero it was just me. Talagang nakapag-ready sila ng maayos and hindi ako nakapag-adjust,” said Perez.
“At talagang nabitin lang ako. Mintins talaga siya, wala naman akong excuse doon. Nag-miss lang siya. Pero sa susunod maipapasok ko na ‘yun for sure,” he added.
In Game 1, Perez was saddled with foul troubles which limited him from going full force.
Though Perez encountered the same issues in Game 3, Perez thought otherwise this time around as it made the match even better and forced them to get more creative with their schemes and shots, and allowed for other players to step up in their stead.
“Ganu’n siguro talaga pero kailangan kong mag-ingat. [This time], hindi naman siya nakaapekto kasi napaganda pa nga since sila Jeron [Teng] and Jericho [Cruz] nag-step up,” said Perez.
“Sobrang crucial ‘yun kasi ayaw naming madikdik talaga and kailangan talaga namin ng mataas na energy para matalo namin ‘yung Meralco. Talagang doon kami natatalo sa rebound, offensive rebounds ang dami. And their hustles talaga nandoon.”
