FOSHAN, CHINA - PBA rookie CJ Perez was without a doubt the most impressive Gilas Pilipinas player in the group stage of the 2019 Fiba World Cup.
Too bad he had to find himself explaining a bad decision in the end.
Gilas' breakout star blamed his inexperience for a botched play late in regulation against Angola when the Filipinos had 5.2 seconds to come up with a game-winning play and instead came out empty.
With Gilas left without a timeout, Perez hesitated too long after getting the inbound and was left with no time to produce a good shot at a basket, settling instead for a desperation heave from near midcourt.
"It was my decision," an inconsolable Perez said during the post-game press conference. "I think it was my inexperience."
"I was supposed to drive that, I think I should've driven to the basket and may be I could've made the shot," the Columbian freshman out of Lyceum added.
Gilas coach Yeng Guiao said that single moment of hesitation from Perez proved costly. And it was all because of his inexperience in international basketball, he added.
"You can really see that it was the inexperience," said Guiao. "In a PBA situation, there would be a timeout and he will have a clear understanding of what he needs to do. But there, there are no timeouts [in such a situation in international basketball] so once you get the ball, you’re on your own.
"All of us in the bench were shouting, ‘Attack or shoot.’ But for one reason or another, nag-freeze si CJ. What happened was CJ chose to linger with the ball and the clock ran out."
Still, that costly play can't dampen an otherwise impressive international debut for Perez, who led the Philippine team with a 16-point average through three games to go with 3 assists, 3 assists and 3 steals in 22.4 minutes per.
"The trust of coach Yeng," he said, when asked what sparked his fine play. "I feel it, so give him the credit. "
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