Beermen downplay 8-0 record

MANILA, Philippines -- Despite a perfect start thus far in the PBA Philippine Cup, CJ Perez and the San Miguel Beermen are far from satisfied.

Fresh off their eight straight victory in the All-Filipino Conference following a 98-91 win over rivals Magnolia Hotshots on Friday, San Miguel is looking ahead to its last three games.

“For sure, the target is on our backs. The 8-0 record is nothing,” Perez told reporters in Filipino.

“We just have to sustain and be consistent in what we’re doing in practice and in games,” he added.

The win over Magnolia, which snapped the Hotshots’ four straight wins, led the defending champions to a twice-to-beat advantage.

However, it did not come easy as they had to thwart a comeback attempt by their opponents.

After leading by as much as 20 points in the first half, the contest turned into a down-the-wire affair.

The advantage dwindled to just three, 92-89, with a pair of free throws by Magnolia’s Paul Lee.

However, back-to-back triples by Chris Ross and Perez put the match out of reach.

The spitfire guard bared that the team could not match the energy of the Hotshots coming off halftime, as the momentum shifted to Magnolia.

“But, the veterans, like Chris Ross, Marcio [Lassiter,] they really control the game if we are getting at a loss,” he said.

In their last three games of the elimination round, the Beermen will face the NLEX Road Warriors, the Blackwater Bossing and the Meralco Bolts.

With the final stretch of the eliminations, the team’s leading scorer stressed that he aims to be consistent every game.

“Whoever we are facing, even if it’s not Magnolia, I will really do my best. I do not want to waste the trust the team has for me.”