PBA: Jericho Cruz bounces back to lead San Miguel to victory

Jericho Cruz. PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Jericho Cruz powered San Miguel past Blackwater on Wednesday after a subpar opening game in the PBA Governors’ Cup three days ago.

Cruz led all scorers in the Beermen’s 105-86 win over the Bossing with 22 points on a blistering 9-of-13 shooting from the field after tallying only two points in a victory over Phoenix last Sunday in Antipolo.

The veteran guard attributed his bounce-back game to his coaches.

“Of course, the coaching staff [gets credit] because they give me confidence. In our first game, I had a bad outing. All I did was get back to the drawing board,” said Cruz.

“I told myself I’d bounce back in the next game,” he added.

Cruz hit three out of his four attempts from long range and also had three rebounds and three assists in close to 27 minutes off the bench.

“Players are playing well they are defending well that’s why I think our offense is going up also. It’s because of their defense,” said SMB coach Jorge Gallent

The 32-year-old Cruz also made an impact on the defensive end where he helped limit Ato Ular to just six points on 3-of-9 shooting from the field. Ular was coming off a 14-point, 11-rebound effort in a win over Phoenix last Friday.

Despite another lopsided victory for the second straight game, San Miguel again saw its 30-point lead reduced significantly—something that also happened in its previous game against Phoenix.

“We have to play smarter. In the first half, we were running and running and then we just stopped.”

The Beermen go for a 3-0 start against the Terrafirma Dyip on Friday in Antipolo.