Jericho pays back coach’s trust

Former CNMI national team member Jericho Cruz is making up for lost time as he wanted to repay the trust given to him by Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup’s playoff round.

Former CNMI national team member and Rain or Shine rookie Jericho Cruz pulls up for a one-handed shot against Meralco’s John Wilson in Game Two of the Elasto Painters’ semifinals series against the Bolts in the Philippine Basketball Association Governor’s Cup last week. (KC Cruz)

Cruz, who came back last March 20 after an almost three-month layoff due to a foot injury, was instrumental in helping the top seeded Elasto Painters complete a three-game sweep of the Meralco Bolts in their best-of-five semifinals series in Asia’s first play-for-pay league.

ROS now awaits the winner of the other playoffs pairing between Purefoods and Talk ‘N Text for its finals opponent.

“This is my first finals appearance since I played here in the Philippines. The excitement is there since this is in the PBA. It’s a dream come true for me,” said Cruz, who regularly comes of the bench and plays tough defense against their opponents’ shooters.

The 24-year-old Cruz, picked ninth overall in last year’s PBA rookie draft, said Guiao giving him the playing minutes surely boosted his confidence against the league’s veteran cagers.

For that, the former Adamson Falcon was grateful for Guiao’s decisions and is just paying back the Elasto Painters’ outspoken mentor.

“Coach Yeng giving me his trust is a big deal for me, considering that I’m just a rookie. It surely boosted my confidence and I have no plans on backing down, especially now that we’re in the finals,” said Cruz in an email to the Saipan Tribune.

Cruz said he knows that he needs to work 10 times harder to earn the trust of their coaches and his teammates since he is the only rookie on the Elasto Painters’ roster.

“I am blessed that coach Yeng uses me and sometimes he let me finish the game. This is once in a lifetime experience a rookie could get. I am really happy being coached by one of the greatest mentors in the Philippines,” added Cruz.

Cruz, who averaged 12 points per game and 43 percent shooting from the field in the series, had a breakout performance in ROS’ semis series against Meralco in a Game 2 92-82 win. He finished with 15 points including a 3-of-5 clip from beyond the arc.

His tough defense also helped contain Meralco chief gunner Gary David from connecting with his outside shots.

His exploits earned him a co-Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honors with teammate Paul Lee for the period of March 30-April 5.

And Cruz’s work ethic earned a lot of praise from the fiery Guiao, who said that the rookie guard’s defensive plays and scoring ability are the reasons why they picked him in the draft.

“That has been his character and style since he was playing for the Adamson Falcons. He has the toughness that we’re looking for the team,” added Guiao, who is also a representative of Pampanga province’s first district in the country’s House of Representatives.

Cruz, on the other hand, said he was surprised and didn’t expected to earn the PBA Press Corps’ weekly honors with teammate Lee.

He dedicated his exploits to the people of the CNMI. “I hope I inspired the kids back home and I hope to make the island proud. This one is all for you back home.”