Cruz emerges from shadows

JERVY Cruz’s turn to shine has come.

The 6-foot-3 power forward recently dished out a rock-solid game to power Rain or Shine to victory and earn the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the Week honors for the period Oct. 15 to 21.

Showing that heart can make up for lack of size, Cruz posted career highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds as the Elasto Painters trounced Globalport, 94-83, last Saturday and tighten their grip of second spot in the Philippine Cup.

None is happier for Cruz than his coach Yeng Guiao, who knows about the extra hours the former University of Santo Tomas ace and UAAP MVP spends to further hone his game.

“Jervy is one player who has been very consistent for us and it should not be surprising,” said Guiao of the man tabbed No. 4 overall during the 2009 Rookie Draft.

Rain or Shine improved to 3-1 while Cruz boosted his conference numbers to 13.5 points and 9.5 rebounds an outing.

His point production is just behind team leader Jeff Chan’s 23.2. Roy Luarca