Jericho Cruz was glad to bounce back from what he considers was the worst outing he’s had this season as he helped San Miguel get back at Meralco in Game Five of their 2022 PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series, Friday night.
The spitfire guard unloaded 17 points, including nine in the third quarter alone as he helped the Beermen reverse a halftime deficit on the way to the 89-78 victory that gave them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series.
It was far from what he did in Game Four last Wednesday, where he only tallied two points on five attempts in 21 minutes in their 97-111 defeat.
Such a lowly production was so unacceptable for the Adamson University product to the point that he lost sleep over it, he admitted.
“Yung game ko last game, hindi ako pinatulog noon eh. The whole season, ‘yun siguro ‘yung masasabi ko na pinaka-pangit ko na laro,” the 31-year-old said moments after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Thus, the relief on his part to have redeemed himself with a solid performance that saw him shoot 6-of-13 from the field, highlighted by a pair of triples. He also collected four rebounds, two steals, and an assist in 32 minutes.
“‘Yung mindset ko coming into this game ay talagang just be me, laruin ko lang kung ano nilalaro ko dati, ‘yung kumpiyansa ko huwag kong alisin,” he said.
Cruz thanked his coaches and fellow Beermen for helping him keep his head up after Game Four, which definitely allowed him to regain his touch.
“Andiyan naman ‘yung mga coaches namin. Thank you sa kanila dahil kahit talo kami, talagang tinutulungan kami to rise up again,” said the eight-year veteran, who’s averaging 10.8 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in the series.
“‘Yung mga payo ng mga coaches, as well as ng mga leader sa team, ‘yung mga payo nila ‘yung dala ko entering this game. Nagbunga naman.”
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
