Apex Predator: San Miguel’s Perez sweetens fruitful career with Finals MVP hardware

MANILA, Philippines – It was a long and winding road for San Miguel guard CJ Perez, but “The Predator” finally got his PBA Finals Most Valuable Player plum.

Perez was a consistent force in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, averaging 18.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.2 steals per game.

In Wednesday’s Game 6 win, the spitfire guard had a playoff career-high 28 points, with 24 coming in the second half.

It was a fitting end to a conference for Perez, who had been seemingly playing basketball non-stop since last year’s FIBA World Cup.

“I have been really blessed. [I played] in the Asian Games, and I was a part of the World Cup [roster.] Overwhelming,” he said in Filipino Wednesday.

“I think this is the fruit of my effort. These are all blessings from the Lord that He gave me. I’m just grabbing it and I’m grateful,” he added.

Perez was big in the fourth quarter, when the Beermen trailed by as much as 11 points, 90-79, with 7:42 remaining.

Since then, Perez erupted for 12 of San Miguel’s last 24 points.

His last three points couldn’t have come bigger.

With San Miguel leading by one, 100-99, with less than a minute remaining, he danced with Magnolia’s Rome dela Rosa. He crossed over twice and stepped back to a 3-pointer that found the bottom of the net, giving the Beermen the coup de grace, 103-99.

“I am really blessed because of course, this early in my career, these kinds of blessings come my way. It may not come easily because I had to go through a lot of sweat and dissatisfaction before I get here,” he said.

“But I am really thankful to all our coaches because they trust me every time, even if I am not playing well, they really let me be me,” the Best Player of the Conference added.

San Miguel head coach Jorge Gallent also lauded Perez for his performance.

“CJ’s been a great player. He plays defense, he plays offense, but now he just showed his worth in this conference that he can excel more,” Gallant said.

“As a good player, he became a better player. So, he did the things that he had to do in practice, in games and this is where he is now. He won the BPC and he won the Finals MVP,” he added.

“What I’m saying is he’s getting matured already. He’s getting matured and I love it. All of his success, I love.”