Cjay Perez to Kevin Quiambao for trey.
That’s the play that got Gilas Pilipinas the marginal basket in their scintillating 82‑81 triumph over Jordan to start the second round of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers on a winning note. And it was a play that stemmed from a veteran in Perez trusting a young gun in Quiambao.
“I told him before the game to keep shooting because that’s what he do. And yeah, he make it and I’m proud of him,” Perez said after the game that needed extra time to be decided.
That trust, crucially, never faded—even as KQ was 1‑for‑6 for the game up to that point, with time down to less than 20 seconds in OT and the game knotted at 79.
Spur of the Moment Dime from Cjay Perez
Perhaps just as notable, Perez took it upon himself to make that play possible. It wasn’t by design. Neither was it a play call from Tim Cone. It was Perez taking on the challenge of getting Gilas Pilipinas a basket—and he made the right decision.
“It was a spontaneous moment. I think I just did my thing,” Perez explained. “No one told me to take over, but I took it. I took the risk. And Kai [Sotto] set a ball screen and then I turned the corner and I saw KQ fill in the wing. So he made the shot.”
Indeed, Cjay Perez did his thing. Quiambao did the rest.
Tim Cone Weighs In
Of course, that play probably isn’t happening if not for what Cjay Perez had done in the latter half of the fourth quarter and in OT: he repeatedly got to the heart of the Jordan defense and made them pay, pouring in 14 of his 16 points over that stretch on a variety of floaters and twisting layups.
“It was a real function of him being able to get to the rim,” Cone pointed out. “He got to the rim multiple times and the defense made a decision to really collapse on him this time so he couldn’t get to the rim. So, they really jumped into his driving lanes and he made the great decision to kick out to KQ because they left KQ to help out on Cjay…”
That’s exactly what happened. Cjay Perez, as Cone noted, made his own adjustment in giving the ball up to the open man.
And that’s trust at work.
