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Cruz named to MBT All-Stars
The CNMI Junior Nationals’ Jethro Cruz was selected to the All-Star Team of the 2016 U17 Micronesian Basketball Tournament that concluded last Saturday at the Palau National Gymnasium in Koror.
The lefty shooter was the most consistent scorer on the CNMI squad, hitting double figures in all six games in the five-team tournament. He averaged 18.7 points in the elimination round after tallying 22 markers each in their game against Belau and Palau and recording 21 and 10 versus Yap and Guam, respectively.
In the playoffs, the Saipan Southern High School standout made 20 points in the CNMI’s semis win over Guam, 82-48, and in the finals against Palau, Cruz had 15 markers.
The CNMI Junior National player also collected 29 rebounds, 17 steals, and 11 assists in the entire tournament. He canned 13 triples in the six matches he played in the MBT, drilling his most baskets (6) from beyond the arc in their semis victory over Guam.
Cruz received a trophy for making it to the elite group, which also had Yap’s Zeric Gant, Belau’s Jerry Ngiraremiang and Altar Kintoki, and Palau’s Wallace Worswick as members.
Worswick led Palau’s title run in the tournament, as he scored 29 markers in their 62-54 win against the CNMI in the finale last weekend. Worswick and company were unbeaten in the regional competition.
