PBA: Jojo Lastimosa, Jericho Cruz laugh off past Finals clash

San Miguel Beermen’s Jericho Cruz during Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals against Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa and San Miguel Beer swingman Jericho Cruz have long buried the hatchet after their altercation during last season’s PBA Philippine Cup Finals.

With the same matchup rekindled in this year’s all-Filipino Finals, the two couldn’t help but poke fun at the incident.

READ: PBA Finals: Jericho Cruz stunned by Jojo Lastimosa’s remarks

“Basta ‘wag lang gawin ni Jericho ulit ‘yon, walang mangyayari (as long as Jericho doesn’t do his thing again, nothing will happen),” said Lastimosa in jest on Monday at Novotel.

“But seriously, me and Jericho are okay. He played really well. There’s a reason why he’s the Finals MVP. He’s a big part of them winning so hopefully, his shooting wouldn’t be that good,” he added.

TNT manager Jojo Lastimosa during a PBA Commissioner’s Cup game. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Lastimosa was referring to their brief back-and-forth during Game 4 of last season’s Finals.

READ: PBA Finals: Jericho Cruz embraces ‘angas’ as fuel for Beermen

With the game already decided, Cruz drew attention after hyping up the crowd in the dying seconds of San Miguel’s 105-91 win. That gesture didn’t sit well with Lastimosa.

The issue, however, has since been resolved.

Cruz, the Finals MVP in that series, took Lastimosa’s remarks in stride and responded with a grin. The funny thing? He didn’t exactly promise it wouldn’t happen again.

“Bahala na kung ano mangyari sa game (let’s just see what happens in the game),” Cruz said.

“I’ll just play my game. I’ll keep showing my fire in the game. Coach Jolas said I shouldn’t do it again but let’s see… I might do it again. ‘Wag mo ‘ko awayin, coach,” he added.