PBA: CJ Perez, San Miguel eye other end result vs Meralco

MANILA, Philippines—The ultimate time San Miguel Beer crossed paths with Meralco in a playoff collection, the Bolts emerged victorious in six video games en path to the PBA Philippine Cup name ultimate yr.

That used to be ultimate yr. In this yr’s iteration of the all-Filipino, the Beermen and the Bolts face off once more however this time, within the quarterfinals.

READ: PBA: San Miguel Beer clinches most sensible seed with NorthPort rout

CJ Perez is hoping that historical past does now not repeat itself.

“I think it’s a different ballgame now. The past is in the past,” stated Perez after the Beermen’s dominant 126-91 win over Northport to finish the removal spherical.

“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 issues in Sunday’s win in Antipolo, used to be a the most important piece for the Beermen in ultimate yr’s Philippine Cup Finals.

Unfortunately for San Miguel, even his huge contributions to the squad weren’t sufficient to disclaim the Bolts their first style of franchise championship.

READ: PBA: Meralco beats San Miguel to reinforce bid for twice-to-beat

Things have vastly modified a yr later, even though, because the Bolts discovered themselves on the backside of the standings this convention as protecting champions.

Still, Perez believes the reigning kings of the Philippine Cup gained’t cross down simply.

“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 distinction this time for San Miguel Beer is understated, the Beermen simplest want to win one recreation over the Bolts with a twice-to-beat merit as the primary seed on the finish of the removal spherical.

Meralco (6-5) is coming off a quarterfinals go out in its Basketball Champions League stint in Dubai.

The Beermen (8-3) renew their competition with Meralco on Friday at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.