CJ Perez and San Miguel Beer are determined to inch closer to a sweep of the elimination round when they face Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup.
CJ Perez and San Miguel Beer are determined to inch closer to a sweep of the elimination round when they face Blackwater in the PBA Philippine Cup. photograph by Joey Sanchez Mendoza for the daily tribune @tribunephl_joey
HOOPS

Perez fueling San Miguel run

Mark Escarlote

Consistency has been key in San Miguel Beer’s unbeaten streak in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.

Bulldozing their way into the quarterfinals armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, the defending champions are unstoppable after nine games into the all-Filipino Conference.

In front of the charge is the same man who led San Miguel Beer’s latest title conquest just a little over a couple of months ago.

CJ Perez has been the driving force of the Beermen’s quest for a grand slam.

His performance put the star-studded squad within two wins of completing an elimination round for the first time in a decade.

And it’s a no-brainer that the Commissioner’s Cup Finals Most Valuable Player would get the honor of being named PBA Press Corps-Pilipinas Live Player of the Week for the period of 24 to 28 April.

Perez and San Miguel enter the final week of the eliminations needing to beat Blackwater and Meralco to achieve the PBA’s first perfect elims slate since TNT won all nine games in the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup.

They will have to be as sharp as in their previous two games which saw Perez leading San Miguel to wins over Magnolia and NLEX and averaging 27.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals.

He had 25 points and five assists in San Miguel’s 98-91 win over Magnolia last 26 April, the first meeting of both teams since the Commissioner’s Cup Finals that the Beermen claimed in six games.