Desire to win drives Cruz to season best

Ginebra’s Jervy Cruz. PBA IMAGES

Barangay Ginebra forward Jervy Cruz just wanted contribute in any way he can.

And he did, in a big way, scoring a season-high 21 points to propel the Gin Kings past the Star Hotshots in Game 4 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series Wednesday night.

“My mentality is just to be aggressive inside the court. I just want to contribute every time coach puts me in the game even for just limited minutes,” Cruz told reporters in Filipino. “I just want to win.”

READ: Ginebra frustrates Star to knot series

The 30-year-old Cruz had a big second quarter, where Ginebra got into a rhythm, with seven points. He picked up where he left off and poured 12 more points in the last two quarters that helped weather Star’s repeated rallies.

Cruz said he didn’t expect to have this kind of game where he went just two points shy of matching his career high.

The one-time UAAP champion and MVP out of University of Santo Tomas is averaging just five points per game heading into Game 4.

He already eclipsed his average in the second quarter and had nine points by halftime.

“I was surprised. Like I said, as long as we win and I’m able to contribute, I’m going to be happy with that.”