CJ Perez of San Miguel Beer added another feather to his cap after earning his bachelor’s degree from Lyceum of the Philippines University on Wednesday.
Perez said despite getting drafted in the Philippine Basketball Association three years ago, he still pushed through with his studies until he finally earned his degree 13 years since entering college.
“I didn’t stop pursuing my college education,” said the 28-year-old playmaker in a telephone conversation with Daily Tribune.
“It took me some time to finish my studies because I was transferring from one school to another before finally completing my college degree.”
“Now, I’m proud to say that I’m now a college graduate.”
After studying at San Sebastian College and Ateneo de Manila University, where he also played as a varsity player, Perez finally earned his Bachelor in Science Major in Business Management degree at Lyceum.
Perez said he never stopped working for his degree despite already earning serious money as a professional basketball player.
In fact, he uses his money in investing on various businesses.
“I have franchises of local gyms, which me and my friend own,” Perez said.
“We now also have a farm in our province in Pangasinan.”
Aside from gym and farm, San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla revealed that Perez and his wife, Sienna, also own a furniture business.
Abanilla said he is proud of his player’s dedication to finish his studies even when he had already established a good career.
“Basketball is not forever, but he had at least secured his life after basketball,” Abanilla said.
“But it was our bosses, Boss RSA (Ramon Ang), Boss Alfrancis Chua and Boss Robert Non, who really pushed CJ to pursue getting a college degree. He made us all proud.”
On his social media account, Perez expressed how grateful he was, not just to San Miguel management and his family, but also to his college coach in Topex Robinson and the entire Lyceum community, which he led to a National Collegiate Athletic Association title in 2018.