Perez rues Beermen’s failure to keep up with energetic Hotshots in Game 3

MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel was unable to match the effort and energy of the Magnolia Hotshots in Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals, guard CJ Perez said, as the Beermen’s 11-game winning streak came to a screeching halt Wednesday.

Magnolia stuck to the game plan and managed to grind out an 88-80 win over the explosive Beermen to make it a 2-1 series in favor of the latter.

Perez, who scored 16 points in the game, said they have to match the energy and effort of Magnolia to win.

“I think our effort was lacking. We lacked effort on defense, and our offense we just could not shoot properly,” Perez told reporters in Filipino after the game.

“So, we have to fix those,” he added.

Perez finished second in scoring for San Miguel, behind import Bennie Boatwright’s 27 points.

The two, however, combined for 16-of-46 from the field, equivalent to 34.7% shooting.

The whole team was held to just 34% field goal shooting, with the Beermen hitting only 28 of their 82 attempts.

On the other hand, the Hotshots made 38 of their 84 attempts, good for 45% shooting.

“We just have to play 110%. We have to match their energy so we can win. And, we know that this will not be handed to us by Magnolia, so we really have to work,” Perez said.

San Miguel sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter, who only had four points in the game, acknowledged that Magnolia “played with a lot more energy” on Wednesday.

“We know we’re playing Magnolia in the finals, it’s gonna be a tough series. We know it’s not gonna come in easily. They’re playing with their backs against the wall which they rightfully should, and they played with a lot more energy today,” Lassiter, who show just two of four from the field in 35 minutes, said.

“Just felt like we didn’t really match their energy from the start. We gotta look at the film and see what we did wrong. I’m sure there are a lot of mistakes but it’s a defensive match today, a low-scoring game.”

San Miguel’s 80 points on Wednesday was its lowest scoring output in the conference.

Their previous low was 90 points, which was also against the Magnolia Hotshots, in their last defeat last December 10.

According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, the 80 points were the lowest scoring output in a finals game since Barangay Ginebra’s 83-74 loss to the Meralco Bolts back in the Season 46 Governors’ Cup.

“We just gotta figure out how we can get and make some shots, get some better shots,” Lassiter added.

The Beermen will try to build a 3-1 lead when they face the Hotshots anew on Friday, February 9, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.