BACK IN HIS ELEMENT
Scoreless in the first two games, Jericho Cruz bounced back with vengeance in Game 3, as Rain or Shine took a 2-1 series lead with a 109-97 conquest of Talk n Text Sunday.
The fearless rookie dropped 10 in the payoff period as his 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists helped the E-Painters stave off the furious Tropang Texters rally and take the game for good.
The former Adamson Falcon admitted that jitters caught up to him in his first experience in the big stage.
“Yung first two games ko, masyado akong gigil at excited kasi first Finals ko eh. I was trying to adjust to the way how I played all season long,” he said.
Cruz added, “Siguro nakatulong din nung sa pagsigaw sa akin ni coach Yeng (Guiao) na umayos ako at parang hindi ko laro yung nilalaro ko. Para sa akin, naging motivation ko yun.”
Now, with the E-Painters up in the series after beating the Tropang Texters in back-to-back fashion, can he say that they have finally solved the TNT puzzle?
“Sa amin, team defense lang talaga eh. We don’t rely on one guy kasi mahirap eh. Mahirap bantayan si (Jayson) Castro ng one-on-one. We rely on our team defense, and we’ve got to improve more on that for our next game,” Cruz said.
And that focus, Cruz believes, will be the key on Wednesday as they go for the hill in the Commissioner’s Cup championship duel.
“Gusto lang namin maglaro. Di namin iisipin kung sino ang lamang. Dapat gawin lang namin ang trabaho namin. Kung pagbibigyan ni Lord na mag-champion, sana. Pero kami, trabaho lang,” he said. (RL)
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