MANILA – Jaymar Perez did not buck down to challenge in his PBA debut as he carried Columbian Dyip to a 124-118 win over San Miguel Beermen in the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup on Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Perez, the top-overall pick in the 2018 PBA Rookie Draft, made an impressive start in his professional debut with 26 points and five rebounds for the Dyip, which created a five-way tie on top of the standings with 1-0 slate.
Jackson Corpuz chipped in double-double 21 points and 12 rebounds to go along with three blocks, while Reden Celda and Jay-R Reyes contributed 15 and 12 markers, respectively, for the Dyip.
The Dyip were aggressive early as it went up by as much as 10 points behind hits by Reyes, Corpuz and Eric Camson. The Beermen, however, slowly chopped into the deficit and turn it to a seesaw battle.
The Dyip suddenly found themselves down 100-106 midway in the fourth when Perez and Corpuz conspired in a huge run to take a 110-109 lead on back-to-back triples by Celda.
The Beermen were still hanging around at 113-114 when the Dyip came up with a finishing run on a triple by Rashawn McCarthy and free throws by Perez, Reyes and Camson to seal the win.
“I had a feeling lang na mananalo kami with the way we practiced ahead of the other teams,” said Columbian coach Johnedel Cardel. “Nakita ko ‘yung mga boys na they are willing to change their attitude than the last conference.”
Arwind Santos finished with 34 points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while Marcio Lassiter added 25 markers for the Beermen, which did not get much from new recruit Terrence Romeo, who had seven points in 12 minutes of action./PN
