ALL’s well that ends well.
Before CJ Perez rose to the occasion to propel San Miguel to a thrilling 95-89 comeback over TNT in Game Three on Sunday night, it appeared the veteran guard had a misunderstanding with coach Leo Austria.
Austria talked about it after Perez’s late seven-point burst enabled the Beermen to snatch the upper hand in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, 2-1, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“Earlier during the first half, nagkaroon kami ng kaunting altercation,” he said. “He wants to win by playing a lot of times. But as a coach, I know what’s happening, because we’re after the flow of the game.”
“I have respect for everybody. But I want to let him know na I am the coach of the team and they should respect me also.”
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Apparently, the incident happened after the Beermen lost grip of an early 17-point spread as the Tropang 5G stormed their way back and jumped to a 50-44 lead at the half.
At that point, Perez only had three points on 1-of-6 shooting.
But the two let bygones be bygones shortly after.
“I apologized and he apologized,” quipped Austria.
What followed was Perez going on a zone in the fourth quarter, firing 17 points including a seven straight unanswered points that turned the tide in favor of the defending champions.
Perez’s clutch four-point shot erased a three-point deficit and put the Beermen on top for good, 90-89, with 41 seconds left to play.
Austria said the disagreement with Perez turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
“It turned out maganda ang nangyari. Nare-focus siya,” said the San Miguel coach. “Nakita ninyo kanina, ayaw magpatalo.”
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Despite what happened, Austria the former NCAA MVP from Lyceum enjoys his full trust and confidence, so much so that he allowed Perez to do it all by himself with the outcome of the game on the line.
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“Yung last possession, lahat sa kanya ko ibinigay,” said Austria.
Perez delivered and San Miguel walked away with its second straight win in the best-of-seven title series and Austria said they’ll let bygones be bygones.
“That’s already a thing of the past. After all we’re one team, we have to unite together para hind maapektuhan yung team,” said the San Miguel coach.
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