Tinian’s knight in shining armor

Tinian’s Sir Dela Cruz in action during the recent 2021-2022 IT&E Interscholastic Boys High School Basketball Championships at the Marianas High School Gymnasium in Susupe.(ROSELYN B. MONROYO)

“Sir” is a formal honorific address in English usually reserved for knights of the realm that comes from the term “sire” in the Middle Ages.

And for all intents and purposes Sir Dela Cruz has earned that title—even though it’s already his birth name—for leading Tinian to back-to-back championships in the 2021-2022 IT&E Interscholastic Boys High School Basketball Championships.

In the do-or-die finals game against top-ranked Saipan Southern High School, the 5’9” combo-guard scored all but 6 of the team’s 32 total points. His game-long brilliance led Tinian coach Keith Nabors to proclaim that Dela Cruz might just be the best high school basketball player in the CNMI.

“He definitely balled outta control during the tourney. He showed everyone his skillset and his closer mentality. This is what separates him from other high school ballers in the CNMI. He knows that winning feeling and he did everything in his power to hold on to that and another championship run is what ensued,” said Nabors.

Dela Cruz was quick to deflect the accolades his coach bestowed on him though.

“I truly appreciate all his support and how much he believes in not only me, but the rest of his players as well. However, I would not agree that I’m the best player in the CNMI. The reason I play how I play is because of how much I love this game. Every player has their own unique qualities that makes them the player and person they are. We all got our strengths, if we all played the same with no differences between us, basketball would be boring. It’s the diversity and variety within all the players that makes the game what it is,” he said.

Nabors, however, insists that it wasn’t championship hangover that led him to say that his ward is the best high school player in the islands.

“I’m not trying to disrespect any of the other players out there. There is plenty of talent in the CNMI currently but he is in a class all his own.”

Simply put, the longtime Tinian coach said Dela Cruz is a generational talent that can be compared to Saipan hoopers that eventually took their talents to the U.S. mainland.

“He’s got the tools needed to play at the next level I think. I’ve seen what the CNMI basketball players who have had success in the mainland like Christian Mizer and Kobee Mendoza have and he’s got that. And very few players have that ‘It’ factor.”

Aside from his innate talent for putting the ball through the hoop, Nabors said Dela Cruz also knows when to slow the pace and when to turn the jets on.

“The cerebral part of basketball when everything is moving slow and he’s able to read defensive weaknesses and exploit them. Those are just some of the things that separate him from the others in my opinion,” he said