Eversince his time in Far Eastern University, Carl Cruz has always been identified as a player who just takes in whatever shots he is given by his opponents, earning him the reputation of being a true sportsman.
Now, even if he has made his way into the pro ranks with the Alaska Aces and into Gilas Pilipinas program, the sweet-shooting 6-foot-4 stretched forward continues his humble ways both on and off the court.
But Cruz’s patience was tested  in the 39th William Jones Cup,  when the Nationals’ match against Iraq in a highly-physical affair, Thursday night at the Taipei Heping Basketball Gym.
The match, according to Cruz, was nothing short of dirty. He was actually at the receiving end of physical contacts, with the most glaring one happening at the end of the third canto when he was hit on the face.
“Ang masasabi ko sa laro ngayon is marumi. In-expect namin na marumi,” said Cruz, who had 10 points in their 84-75 win.
“Kami, nasa dugout pa lang kami, papasok pa lang kami, alam na namin na pisikalan na ‘to.”
But there stood the 25-year-old bruiser, doing his best not to be too caught up of what happened. Because for him, retaliating will never do anything good, and it might just hurt his and his team’s chances in the match.
“Wala naman sa mind ko manakit eh. In fact nagsosorry pa nga ako sa kanila, lalo nung nadaganan ko yung point guard nila,” said Cruz, recalling the incident where he fell on Ali Aljuboori in the 2:41 mark of the opening frame.
“Wala sa mind ko manakit.”
And Cruz plans to also apologize to Gilas head coach Chot Reyes, who was furious with the unnecessary motions his players did against Iraq.
