Jericho Cruz shrugged off a scary fall during San Miguel’s eventual win over Rain or Shine in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals, Friday.
The hard-nosed combo guard refuses to be held back by any pain whatsoever, especially now that the conference has entered into the playoffs.
“Whether nasasaktan or nai-injure kami, siyempre work namin ‘to so we just have to suck it up and go through the pain,” he said during the postgame press conference of their 127-122 victory at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Cruz fell hard on his backside at the 1:15-mark of the third quarter — and with the Beermen up big, 102-87 — as he attacked the Elasto Painters’ defense.
It took him a while to get back up but he played through it afterward. He then showed how unbothered he was, scoring SMB’s last seven points of the quarter to help his crew head into the final period ahead by 20, 109-89.
The 33-year-old would finish with a season-high 20 points on an excellent 70-percent from the floor, spiked by a pair of three-pointers.
As they now head into the best-of-5 semis against either Ginebra or NorthPort, staying as healthy as they can remains the priority for Cruz and Co.
“We just have to stay healthy,” he said. “Siyempre aalagaan namin sarili namin kasi alam naman natin na ‘pag playoffs, every other day yung game.
“Importante talaga ‘yung health namin dito. Kami as players, we’re here to do our jobs,” continued the nine-year pro.
