San Miguel aims to rest, regroup
‘It’s a big deal to have that two-day rest, especially for Kuya June Mar’
After three grueling games, San Miguel Beer is looking to rest and regroup before marching to Game 4 of their Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup best-ofseven finals series on Wednesday.
CJ Perez said the two-day break following their 89-93 loss in Game 3 on Sunday is a welcome development, especially to a team like them that has been battered all conference long.
Perez scored 18 points but was limited to a forgettable 6-of-19 field goal shooting, no thanks to the airtight defense employed by the Bolts that put them two wins away from clinching their first ever title since joining the league 14 years ago.
“It’s a big deal to have that two-day rest, especially for Kuya June Mar. He really needs the rest and we need to adjust,” Perez said, referring to Fajardo, who was at the receiving end of the punishing defense employed by big men Raymond Almazan, Norbert Torres, Brandon Bates and Cliff Hodge.
“Game 4 will be crucial. We need to have high energy to keep up with them.”
Aside from the Bolts’ airtight defense, Perez also rued their sour free throw shooting, especially in the crucial stretch where they missed seven freebies.
“The free throws were the most crucial. We missed seven late in the game and that made the difference,” Perez said.
Fajardo, the league’s seven-time Most Valuable Player, admitted that he was gassed out as Meralco rotated Almazan, Brandon Bates and Cliff Hodge to stop him and forced him to settle for a 2-of-5 shooting clip.
The Cebu native finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds in Game 3 and looks poised to take home his 10th Best Player of the Conference award.
He said they have to keep their poise and move the ball in the face of the punishing Meralco defense.
“We need to do extra passes. They (Meralco) have a lot of bigs and they rotate fast,” said Fajardo, whose team was outhustled by Meralco with lesser second chance points, 11-22, and offensive rebounds, 18-22, in Game 3.
“It’s exhausting. We need to improve our offensive rebounds.”