MANILA – As two-time PBA champion CJ Perez gears up to compete in the Philippine Cup finals, he is dedicating this run to a special group of kids.
Ahead of the best-of-seven series between the San Miguel Beermen and TNT Tropang 5G, Perez looked back on his beginnings in a social media post.
"Nagsimula akong maglaro nang nakayapak sa kalsada ng Pangasinan. Minsan walang kain, madalas walang baon. Pag nanalo? Ayos, may pang-tusok sa fishball at ice tubig. Ngayon, pang-apat ko na sa PBA Finals," he wrote.
"Hindi ako andito para sumikat, nandito ako para manalo. Para sa pamilya. Para sa batang ako na kahit kupas na bola ang gamit, buong buo pa rin ang loob," Perez said.
The 31-year-old SMB guard shared he is dedicating his finals appearance to underprivileged kids with dreams of being on the hard court.
"Kaya 'tong Finals run na ’to, inaalay ko para sa lahat ng batang pinanganak na kulang. Kulang sa gamit, kulang sa sapatos, kulang sa pamasahe, kulang sa back-up, pero punong-puno ng pangarap. Wag kayong bibitaw. Hindi hadlang ang kulang kung buo ang loob mo," Perez explained.
During the PBA Philippine Cup finals press conference on Friday, Perez shared the reason behind the post.
"Dine-dedicate itong finals para sa mga batang nangangarap kagaya ko. Kaming mga galing probinsya, yung mga takot pumunta dito sa Manila kasi natatakot silang walang matirhan, di sila makuha," he said.
"Yun yung isang inspiration ko may mga players from other province na walang budget pumunta dito, di nila alam paano sila mag-uumpisa," Perez explained.
The 31-year-old grew up in Pangasinan and moved to Manila to play college basketball.
His most notable collegiate basketball achievement was leading the Lyceum Pirates to two NCAA finals appearances.
Since being drafted as the top pick in the 2018 PBA draft, he bagged two titles, won Finals MVP and Best Player of the Conference.
The SMB guard said he is not taking for granted that he has another shot at winning his third PBA title.
"Being in the finals and play basketball, yung mahal mong nilalaro simula nung bata, talagang it's an honor. May mga batang nakikita ako dito naglalaro," Perez said.
Perez and SMB seek to redeem themselves by winning the Philippine Cup title, while TNT aims to make history by achieving the coveted grand slam.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven series is on July 13 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.