San Miguel head coach Leo Austria insisted that he wasn’t the reason behind Jericho Cruz’s decision to join the perennial contenders via free agency.
The champion mentor said that the two-way winger had been wanting to be a Beerman ever since, that he actually asked before if there’s any way that he could be part of the storied ball club after his first three years in the PBA.
“Actually, hindi naman yun ang reason kung bakit siya pumunta rito sa San Miguel. Hindi ako,” he said. “Ang reason niya is, even before he was in the PBA, he wanted to be with San Miguel. Fortunately, ako ang coach ngayon.
“After his first three years, he asked me how to get to San Miguel. Sabi ko, ‘That is hard, because you’re a key player, unless some team trades you to San Miguel’ but it did not happen. Until dumating itong free agency,” he added.
Cruz left NLEX after two-plus seasons and signed with SMB last Tuesday in yet another major development in the league’s new free agency ruling.
And that effectively reunites him with Austria, his mentor at Adamson University. The same goes with fellow Soaring Falcon in Rodney Brondial.
Photo by PBA Images
“He’s so welcome sa team,” Austria said of his student. “Dahil alam naman natin what kind of player he is — he’s a two-way player. And in the future, makukuha rin niya kung ano talaga yung meron itong San Miguel.”
The 31-year-old has yet to immerse himself with his new team’s scheme of tuings, but made his Beermen debut on Thursday night against, coincidentally, the team that picked him ninth overall in 2014: Rain or Shine.
Cruz understandably played just 11 minutes, and only had three points and two rebounds. But he received a warm welcome as his side sneaked past the Elasto Painters, 104-100, to get back on track in the Governors’ Cup.
Austria can’t wait to see the seven-year pro become a key part of his star-studded rotation, but he’s staying patient at the same time.
Photo from PBA Images
“Hopefully in the next few games, makasama na siya sa rotation. Kasama siya, but I think he needs some more time,” he said.
“I think it’s also a strong signal to all the players na they have to work hard dahil they have to earn their spot. And that’s a good thing. It should be a healthy competition. It should not be a rivalry,” he added.
Cruz’s addition to San Miguel marks yet another major change personnel-wise for the team. Before his arrival, the squad had welcomed Shabazz Muhammad, who is already their third import in this season-ending conference.
Austria admitted that gelling is a concern given such, but he is keeping the faith that they would altogether figure it out in time for the playoffs.
“Actually we’re worried dahil we’re struggling. We’re not satisfied with our performance. We’re always trying to figure it out, dahil since the start of the conference, we keep on changing [imports],” he said.
“Hopefully, matagpuan na namin ‘yung kailangan namin,” he added. “But hindi pa rin dito natatapos, because chemistry, ‘yan ang problema. We will not be cohesive kung walang chemistry dahil we have another player in Jericho Cruz.
“Alam naman natin na he could score, he could play, but still nangangapa pa siya. But come playoff time, they will be utilized well.”
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