CJ Perez. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—Columbian may be far from the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoff picture, but the Dyip are nothing short of motivated.
The Dyip gutted out a 134-132 overtime victory over struggling San Miguel Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum bringing their record to 2-6, still a long way to go to the eighth seed.
Rookie star CJ Perez, though, said that it’s their standing that’s actually pushing them to get better each and every game.
“When you’re at the bottom of the standings, of course, you’d be inspired to play better because you don’t want to stay there until the end,” said Perez, who once again had a marvelous outing against the Beermen, in Filipino.
Perez led the Dyip with 34 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals as they take a 2-0 season series lead against the Beermen who dropped to a disappointing 2-5 record.
The top overall pick of the 2018 rookie draft was also the bane to the Beermen in their Philippine Cup matchup with Perez putting up 26 points and five rebounds in the Dyip’s 124-118 win in the previous conference.
“This win isn’t just for us because we’re also paying it forward to the management, the team, and of course to our families,” said Perez who scored 14 points in the fourth and overtime periods.
Perez was also the one to punch the dagger down San Miguel’s collective heart when he blitzed past Chris Ross and floated a tough layup over 2017 Best Import Charles Rhodes and 2013 MVP Arwind Santos for Columbian’s 134-130 lead with 12.7 seconds to play.
The 25-year-old rookie from San Sebastian added that the final play was an order from head coach Johnedel Cardel.
“Coach trusted me to get the ball in that situation, and I just want to repay coach Johnedel for the trust he’s giving me,” said Perez who bumped his scoring average to 24.1 points per game from 22.9.