CJ Perez’s historic quarter steers SMB to the PBA Finals

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

A perfect 12-of-12 clip, 3-of-3 from downtown, en route to a 30-point first-quarter outing.
CJ Perez, are you still human?

On Jan. 16, 2026, scoring machine CJ Perez inked his name in the PBA history books after becoming the first local player to score the most points in a playoff quarter, propelling the San Miguel Beermen to a semifinal series win over Barangay Ginebra, 101-88, to advance to the PBA Finals against the TNT Tropang 5G.

Perez’s timely explosion came at the perfect moment, as San Miguel looked to close out their semifinal encounter against Ginebra in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup conference.

Before Game 6 kicked off, the whole SMB squad had already talked about starting strong against the resilient Gin Kings — a plan Perez embodied after shooting the lights out in the first 12 minutes of action.

As soon as his first basket kissed the net, Perez went for more and felt a different jolt of electricity after cashing in his first five attempts from the field.

Already up to 12 points after going 5-of-5, Perez nearly fumbled his perfect shooting with a three-pointer from the left elbow, but a lucky shooter’s bounce saved his historic first-quarter highlight reel.

Perez then smelled blood and continued to do damage as the first frame progressed, knocking down another three-pointer while schooling the entire Ginebra frontcourt with his aggressiveness in attacking the paint.

With only four minutes left in the opener, Perez didn’t run out of gas and closed the first quarter with another 15-point outburst, including an insane four-point heave at the 2:21 mark that stretched San Miguel’s lead to 13 points.

As a result, the Beermen opened the matchup with a 14-point cushion, which set the tone for the Game 6 victory.

Perez added 11 more points to his total and recorded a new offensive career-high of 41 points, surpassing his 39-point performance seven years ago against the NLEX Road Warriors.

However, Perez’s insane shooting spree nearly went to waste when the Gin Kings pulled to within just five points in the fourth quarter, 81-76.

When the Beermen needed someone to stop the bleeding, backup center Moala Tautuaa answered the call for SMB, converting a much-needed paint touch backed up by a Don Trollano basket.

The fiery rally spearheaded by the duo was then continued by the rest of the San Miguel wards as they sucked the life out of Ginebra after mounting another huge lead, 99-83, with only two minutes remaining in regulation.

With time not on their side, the desperate Ginebra squad hoisted a string of wild shots, which came to no avail as they could only watch the Beermen celebrate and deal them another heartbreak.

Backstopping Perez during the series-clinching dub was Trollano, who picked up where he left off after adding 23 points and eight rebounds.

On the other hand, nine-time PBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) June Mar Fajardo only had four points in over 30 minutes of playing time but played a huge role in controlling the pace after pulling down 18 rebounds.

San Miguel will have three more days of rest before returning to the PBA hardwood on Jan. 21, 2026, for Game 1 of the PBA Finals against TNT.