Jericho Cruz of the San Miguel Beermen at the PBA Philippine Cup. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel's Jericho Cruz successfully returned to action for the Beermen on Friday after suffering a heel injury a few days ago in the PBA Philippine Cup.
While Cruz is still slowly finding his groove with nine points and four rebounds, he chose to deflect credit for the 98-91 win over Magnolia to the Beermen's plethora of veterans.
“They (veterans) already know what to do. That's what's happening on our team right now. When we have flaws, we react and adjust quickly because, of course, almost all my teammates here have been in the league for how many years,” said the Filipino point guard at Araneta Coliseum.
READ: PBA: Love him or hate him, Jericho Cruz is all about winning
“In fact, almost all of us here on the team are veterans now. When there is a small error, we react and adjust immediately.”
The Beermen maintained their record unscathed after eight games with the leadership of the team's grizzled veterans, June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross, just to name a few.
Even Fajardo fulfilled his duty of being one of the Beermen's leaders, despite posting below-average numbers, with nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
The seven-time PBA MVP's selflessness on the court reflects his desire to give San Miguel the victory, according to Cruz.
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“On our team, we all know that June Mar is our bread and butter, but that's not even how he approaches us. We all, as a whole, have to take (the game) upon ourselves.”
Cruz also praised coach Jorge Gallent, who has meticulously given everyone minutes, despite the majority of the squad being long-time players.
“I thank coach Jorge. He trains us very well, he is a players' coach. He's not difficult to approach, he plays with us in training. Our bond on the team is like a family.”
Gallent also praised the team's veterans, in particular Ross, who sank clutch buckets from beyond the arc in the bounty period when the Hotshots were mounting a comeback.
“(With) Chris Ross, I’m really happy that he’s practicing after practice and you can see what happens (in the game). Every time he practices, he becomes luckier. His practice or his main work was good today,” said the coach.
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Ross finished with 15 points, with all of his baskets coming from three-point range.
