Gilas Pilipinas’ CJ Perez in the Philippines game vs Angola in the Fiba World Cup. –Marlo Cueto/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—CJ Perez finally saw action in this year’s Fiba World Cup on Sunday after not being utilized in Gilas Pilipinas’ opener against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Dominican Republic.
Finally getting the chance to help the Philippines on its home floor, Perez showcased his usual PBA form with an all-around outing of seven points, four rebounds and three assists in Gilas’ 80-70 loss to Angola.
For Perez, who played for nearly 12 minutes, it was all about just staying ready when his number is called.
“I just told myself to be ready whenever I’m called. Of course, the coaches have plans for this tournament so I’m always ready and I trust the coaches with their plans,” said Perez, who plays for San Miguel in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), in Filipino.
“It’s sad because we couldn’t get the win. We lost in rebounds and turnovers.”
In the loss that put Gilas Pilipinas’ bid to advance to the second round in peril, the team was simply outworked on a number of important things.
The Filipinos were outrebounded, 43-39, and had another turnover-prone game with 15. They also couldn’t get their outside shots to fall in, going 4-of-22 from 3-points.
But the shifty guard knows they have to quickly regroup and prepare for Italy, which is eager for bounce back after losing a crucial match to the Dominican Republic earlier in the day, 87-82.
“We’ll talk about it tonight and tomorrow on what we’ll do [against Italy], it’ll be another challenge for us on how we’ll take the win,” Perez said.
Gilas looks to end Group A pool play with a 1-2 on Tuesday when they square up with Simone Fontecchio and the Italians at the same venue.
