CJ Perez picked up where he left off in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Philippine Cup, powering San Miguel Beer anew to a victory that fanned their 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 his 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 the Beermen’s comeback from 14-point down to a convincing 110-95 thrashing of TNT Tropang 5G on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Perez spiced his night with two rebounds, three assists and a steal to propel the Beermen into their sixth straight win in eight games.

 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 5 to 7 December, beating Santi Santillan of Rain or Shine, 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 regularly covering the PBA beat.

“I think it’s all about training,” 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 try to shoot from the perimeter. I think I’m not yet consistent but I’m doing my best to be consistent with my outside shooting.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Eriobu will have a new team by the team he returns from his Gilas Pilipinas stint in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games.

In a trade proposal that the league approved on Wednesday, the 6-foot-4 forward has been traded to Terrafirma in exchange for the Dyip’s second-round pick in the PBA Season 52 draft.