CJ Perez finally ended years of frustrations being on the losing end of his rivalry with Robert Bolick.
CJ Perez-Robert Bolick rivalry
Perez poured in 21 points in leading San Miguel to a 100-95 win over Bolick and the NorthPort Batang Pier to seal a return trip in the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup.
The league’s two-time scoring champion shot 50 percent from the field, grabbed four rebounds, and had two assists in the series clinching win that booked Perez his first-ever semis stint as a pro.
The feat couldn’t have been sweeter as it came at the expense of Bolick, the long-time rival of Perez dating back from their San Beda-Lyceum college rivalry days in which the Red Lions twice denied the Pirates of the NCAA championship twice in a row.
“Unang-una kong nakabawi kay Robert ngayon. Kaya maraming salamat Robert at napagbigyan mo ako,” said Perez after the Beermen completed a 2-0 sweep of their best-of-three series with the Batang Pier.
Although happy making the semifinals for the first time, Perez is also amazed at how Bolick has incredibly performed for the Batang Pier this season, considering he is coming back after more than a year of inactivity coming back from an ACL injury.
Bolick, no doubt, was the focus of San Miguel’s entire defense on Thursday after almost beating the Beermen in Game 1 of the playoffs with a near-half court heave that went in with five seconds to go and put the Batang Pier on top by a basket.
“Sobrang happy rin ako kay Robert kasi ang ganda ng nilalaro niya,” said Perez of his rival.
No less than two-time Defensive Player of the Year Chris Ross took on the daunting task of holding Bolick from his usual numbers.
“He’s really the one directing the team. Maganda ang laro niya, maganda ang laro ng team nila,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Perez and the rest of the Beermen tried to clamp down on Bolick, holding him to just 33 percent shooting from the floor to finish with only 12 points.
But he made up in other things by grabbing eight rebounds and dishing off a game-high 14 assists.
“Sobrang respect (ko) kay Robert,” said Perez.
Austria agreed, saying, “Yung respect namin sa kanya nandun, dahil talaga namang kailangan.”
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