“The Predator” did not just hunt, he feasted.
CJ Perez went on the prowl and laid waste for the San Miguel Beermen in their PBA Philippine Cup finals berth-clinching 101-88 Game 6 victory over Barangay Ginebra.
Perez scored a career-high 41 points, with 30 coming in the first quarter, to carry the Beermen past the Gin Kings Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The guard was simply unstoppable, making all of his 12 field goal attempts in the first frame to help San Miguel stamp its ticket to the finals, where they will face TNT.
Perez had 34 points in the first half, and while he cooled off in the second half due to foul trouble, he was able to get his career-high in the dying seconds.
The Beermen led by as much as 19 points, 68-49, in the third quarter.
But the Gin Kings slowly climbed out of that hole, slicing the deficit to just four, 79-83, with 9:19 remaining.
However, San Miguel exploded 11 straight points to break the game wide open once again, 94-79, with 3:52 left.
While Norbert Torres connected on a triple to creep closer, 82-94, Don Trollano and Andres Cahilig kept their opponents at bay before Perez’s last-second cherry-pick for the career-high.
According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, Perez had the most points scored by any player in an opening quarter of a game. It is also the second-most all-time in any quarter by any local, tied with Bong Alvarez’s 30 in the fourth quarter, and behind Allan Caidic’s 37.
Trollano finished witrh 23 markers off the bench to go with eight rebounds and two assists. Chriss Ross and Mo Tautuaa had eight points apiece for the Beermen, who saw big man June Mar Fajardo finish with just four points but with 18 rebounds.
Scottie Thompson powered the Gin Kings with 24 points, nine rebounds and three assists. Torres chipped in 13 points, while RJ Abarrientos and Japeth Aguilar had 12 and 10, respectively.
The defending All-Filipino Conference champions will now take on the Tropang 5G for the title.
Last season, San Miguel won the championship in six games, which prevented TNT from completing a Grand Slam.
The finals will tip off next Wednesday, 7:30 p.m., at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.