Jericho Cruz will not be able to suit up for Guam in the crucial FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifying Tournament for third-ranked teams set next week.
The shifty guard said that his priority right now is mother team NLEX, especially with the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup possibly resuming by the first week of September following a lengthy break due to the COVID situation.
“Most definitely hindi ako makakasama kasi priority ko ‘yung NLEX, ‘yung mother team ko,” he told Tiebreaker Times, Saturday.
“Definitely, hindi ako makakasama doon sa laro sa Guam.”
Guam is slated to face Chinese Taipei on August 26 and 28 on home soil. Cruz and the Road Warriors, by then, are already in the thick of their preparations for the conference, with PBA teams set to begin practices by Tuesday.
This is indeed a big blow for the Guamainians’ bid to book a ticket to Jakarta, for it won’t have its best player from the previous qualifying window last June.
Cruz submitted a stellar performance in the Amman bubble, powering his side to a rousing two-game sweep of Hong Kong with norms of 22.0 points on 63-percent shooting from the field, on top of 4.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds.
According to the 30-year-old, the EJ Calvo-mentored squad could also miss some key players in the upcoming cage wars aside from him, due to their respective commitments with their mother ball clubs.
Photo from FIBA.basketball
But he is confident that the remaining players will get the job done, although it isn’t lost on him how tough of a challenge the Taiwanese could impose.
Previously, Chinese Taipei lost all its games in the Clark window as it fielded an amateur-laden unit. It remains uncertain, though, if it will follow the same blueprint in Guam, or send in their professional players.
“Feel ko lang, kaya ng Team Guam yan. Feel ko lang.
“Pero I don’t want to underestimate Chinese Taipei … May mga bagong players sila ngayon — mga mas agile, and mas taller,” Cruz opined.
Another factor that could also help his teammates is that it would be played in their territory in Mangilao, most likely at the Calvo Field House.
“Knowing na dun kami maglalaro sa homecourt namin, big boost yun kasi kakampi namin yung mga fans e,” Cruz said.
Had the circumstances been much easier to navigate around, Cruz would surely play for Guam. But then again, NLEX is on top of his mind right now.
“Priority natin ang NLEX,” reiterated the 6-foot-1 gunner, who became a Road Warrior in 2019 via trade. “Ito ‘yung hanapbuhay ko, ‘di ko pwede pabayaan.”
Also, there will still be more opportunities for him to play for his national team in the future, which he said he’ll definitely grab when it knocks on his door.
“If given a chance, I would love to play for Guam! Siyempre, experience ‘yun e. Once in a lifetime din yan,” he said.
