‘Incredible’ Perez wows Guiao
CJ played like a veteran — actually, better than the veterans
FOSHAN, China — If there’s something good that happened in Gilas Pilipinas’ dramatic loss to Angola in the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Basketball World Cup here, it’s the fact that CJ Perez had already earned the trust of head coach Yeng Guiao.
Making his first appearance in the international play, Perez served as the dynamo that kept the Filipinos going in the crucial stretch of their 84-81 setback to the Angolans late Wednesday at the GBA International Sports and Cultural
Arena in this southern Chinese city.
He’s incredible.
Perez nailed key baskets down the stretch, including a big three-point bomb in the final 33.1 seconds that knotted the match at 73 in regulation.
He was tasked to deliver the winning basket in the final 5.2 seconds, but failed to executive, sending the game to overtime, where the bigger, stronger Africans completely took over.
Still, Perez asserted that he’s flattered by the trust given by Guiao. “I’m proud with how I performed and happy with my teammates, especially coach Yeng who pinned his trust on me. It’s flattering to know that win or lose, they are with me,” said Perez, who finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists with four three-pointers in 28 minutes of action.
Guiao said he was surprised with how Perez played.
In fact, the former Lyceum star played better than the veterans as he relentlessly attacked the basket and nailed those long bombs that created larger room for naturalized player Andray Blatche to operate.
Although he served as the goat at the end of regulation, his impressive performance in this game — and those against Italy and Serbia — should define his contribution to Gilas Pilipinas.
“He’s incredible,” said Guiao, referring to Perez, who had to fight for his slot just to make it to the national roster.
“CJ played like a veteran — actually, better than the veterans. He had some rookie mistakes. One was when he held the ball too long. He was kind of hesitant at that point. Well, I guess you can charge that to experience — or inexperienced.”
Guiao said he expects Perez to blossom into a solid force when they move to Beijing to compete in the classification for 17th to 32nd places against other losers in the other brackets.
At that point, the level of competition would be quite manageable and Perez and other young players like Robert Bolick, Kiefer Ravena and Troy Rosario and Roger Pogoy are tipped to go all out to give the Nationals a strong finish.
“We haven’t seen his full potential yet. We’ll see much more of CJ Perez in the future,” Guiao said. “Overall, CJ had a good series. I’m proud with how he performed.”