With the peak of Perez’s career in basketball, Chua is urging the incoming third-year pro to finish his studies in college since attending classes have become more suitable for students like him at this time.

Perez, who studies Business Management major in Lyceum, still has a few semesters left. Classes nowadays have become virtual since the COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire country last year and since traditional face-to-face classes remain in a blur due to the circumstances brought by the pandemic, attending classes has become more manageable for the students. 

“Nung nag-usap kami ni CJ Perez, diniin ko talaga sa kanya, ‘Ilang sem ka na lang, tapusin mo yan. Grumaduate ka lalo na ngayon, Zoom-Zoom na lang,’” he told The Chasedown on Saturday.

“Tapusin mo pag-aaral mo. Napaka-importante niyan,” he added.

The advice he told to Perez happened when the 2019 PBA Rookie of the Year was transferred to San Miguel Beer earlier this year via trade from Terrafirma.

With the former no. 1 pick landing on the league’s winningest franchise, a lot of expectations has been firing to the star-studded Beermen, including the revival of Grand Slam talks.

“Sinabi ko sa kanya eh. Sabi ko, ‘May mga anak ka na ba?’ Sabi niya, ‘Meron na ho boss.’ ‘Okay lang ba hindi sila grumaduate?’ ‘Ay hindi ho pwede.’ ‘O eh ba’t ikaw okay ka lang?,” Chua averred. 

And Perez, Chua said, vowed to do so.

“Nangako naman sa’kin ‘yung bata na tatapusin niya ang kanyang pag-aaral.”