Finally, Carl Cruz gets to play
The 6-foot-4 forward will don the Gilas Pilipinas jersey anew, as he has been named in the 12-man crew that will face the Australia Boomers this Monday, July 2, for their 2019 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers rematch.
This will be the second time that Cruz will face the Boomers.
His first foray in the Asian Qualifiers was also against the Aussies back in the second window, where they lost big, 68-84, at the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne.
But what makes this even more special is that this will be the very first time that he will play in front of his fellow Filipinos, as all of his previous Gilas stints – including the FIBA Asia Cup and SEA Games – took place overseas.
“Siyempre tuwang-tuwa kasi first time ko lang makalaro sa Manila, FIBA pa.
“Kasi lahat ng nilaro ko puro out of the country. So ngayon, sobrang excited ako makaharap yung mga kapwa Pilipino natin,” expressed Cruz.
Cruz is aware of the challenge in store for him and Gilas, since the Aussies are eager to fly back home with the win in their bag, with their 78-79 loss to Japan last Friday – their first in the Asian level – still fresh on their minds.
Moreover, the addition of NBA cagers in Matthew Dellavedova and Thon Maker makes the Boomers even more dreaded. The 7-foot-1 Maker’s arrival only made the team’s frontline even taller, as they already have two 6-foot-10 cagers.
But for the 26-year-old from Novaliches, he’s confident that Gilas has what it takes to play well against Australia, the number 10 in the world.
“Siyempre naman dagdag reinforcement sa kanila,” said Cruz. “Pero kami despite the lack of preparation, alam naman namin sa sarili namin, confident kami na kaya namin, makakapag-execute kami nang maayos sa court bukas.”
As per head coach Chot Reyes, they added Cruz into the final 12 as they need someone who has size and shooting. But for the former FEU Tamaraw, he has another advantage he can maximize come Monday night: familiarity.
“This time, second time, may advantage na ako,” said the sophomore Alaska Aces forward, who has been with Gilas since 2016.
“Alam ko na yung flow, alam ko na yung laro ng Australia. Kung baga, may advantage akong konti.”
