San Miguel Beer guard CJ Perez.–PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—The last time San Miguel Beer crossed paths with Meralco in a playoff series, the Bolts emerged victorious in six games en route to the PBA Philippine Cup title last year.
That was last year. In this year’s iteration of the all-Filipino, the Beermen and the Bolts face off again but this time, in the quarterfinals.
READ: PBA: San Miguel Beer clinches top seed with NorthPort rout
CJ Perez is hoping that history does not repeat itself.
“I think it’s a different ballgame now. The past is in the past,” said Perez after the Beermen’s dominant 126-91 win over Northport to end the elimination round.
“Of course, we need to redeem ourselves also. We lost [in] the Finals but I think with our effort and our system with coach (Leo Austria), we can redeem ourselves.”
Perez, who scored 24 points in Sunday’s win in Antipolo, was a crucial piece for the Beermen in last year’s Philippine Cup Finals.
Unfortunately for San Miguel, even his vast contributions to the squad weren’t enough to deny the Bolts their first taste of franchise championship.
READ: PBA: Meralco beats San Miguel to bolster bid for twice-to-beat
Things have drastically changed a year later, though, as the Bolts found themselves at the bottom of the standings this conference as defending champions.
Still, Perez believes the reigning kings of the Philippine Cup won’t go down easily.
“They have a good system. We need to match their energy. We need to focus on defense.”
“I think offense will come when we defend well, pressure the ball and run in transition defense, that’s what we need to improve on. That’s what we’re looking at.”
The difference this time for San Miguel Beer is simple, the Beermen only need to win one game over the Bolts with a twice-to-beat advantage as the first seed at the end of the elimination round.
Meralco (6-5) is coming off a quarterfinals exit in its Basketball Champions League stint in Dubai.
The Beermen (8-3) renew their rivalry with Meralco on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
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