Jericho Cruz is looking at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers as a gauge to see where Guam is, being a developing basketball program.
“Doon namin makikita kung hanggang saan ‘yung calibre namin as a team, ng Team Guam,” the San Miguel guard told Tiebreaker Times, Sunday.
Team Guahan got drawn in what fans and pundits alike perceive as the ‘group of giants,’ as they will have to lock horns with Australia, New Zealand, and the Philippines in the World Cup Qualifiers.
That’s two teams belonging to the Top 25 of the FIBA World Ranking for Men. The Boomers are at no.7 — also the no.1 team in Asia, having won the last two FIBA Asia Cup editions — and the Tall Blacks sit in 22nd.
And then, of course, there’s the Gilas of Tim Cone, which is presently the seventh-best team in Asia and 34th overall in the global rankings.
That could be too much for a team that’s ranked 88th, and Cruz acknowledges the kind of challenges that await his side in the World Cup Qualifiers.
But at the same time, he’s looking forward to the experiences Guam will gain while going up against those well-respected teams.
“Malalakas ‘yung mga kalaban namin, pero mag-eenjoy lang kami roon,” said the 34-year-old winger. “Honestly speaking, we’re there to get experience.”
Because Cruz believes that it’s only going to contribute to Guam’s growth basketball-wise even more, whatever may happen in that campaign.
In fact, he’s already proud of how much the men’s program has progressed over the years — from competing within just the FIBA Oceania circuit, to punching a slot to the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 in Saudi Arabia in August.
And soon, they’d be vying for a chance to reach the world stage through the multi-window World Cup Qualifiers, an opportunity they got as one of the 16 teams that qualified for the prestigious continental showpiece.
“Ang laki na nang tinaas namin ngayon compared before. Kasi dati, nasa FIBA Oceania lang kami eh,” reflected Cruz, who’s been representing Guam in FIBA competitions since 2020. “Kami, mag-eenjoy lang kami.
“We’ll see what happens. Tingnan natin kung anong mangyayari doon sa mga games na ‘yon. Pero kami, nothing to lose kami. Mag-eenjoy kami as a team.”
#WATCH: “MAGE-ENJOY KAMI DUN”
Jericho Cruz says Team Guam is focused on measuring themselves against Gilas, the Boomers, and the Tall Blacks in the #FIBAWC Asian Qualifiers 🏀
📹 @justinebacnis /Tiebreaker Times#PBA2025 pic.twitter.com/w0uhI1riwB
— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) May 25, 2025
