NLEX Road Warriors guard Jericho Cruz relishes the opportunity to play for Guam’s national team in the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers next month in Clark, Pampanga.
The Iloilo City-native Cruz is learning a lot under the tutelage of Guam’s national team head coach Phil Handy and said it could be useful when he returns to the Road Warriors.
“I’m learning a lot from Coach Phil Handy, he is an assistant coach for the [Los Angeles] Lakers,” Cruz said. “To be honest it’s a great learning experience for me, the small details of the game and how to be a winner on and off the court.”
“The experience of playing international basketball, that’s one thing I truly cherish,” added the 6-foot-2 Ilonggo, who is in the United States for the training.
The 30-year-old Cruz is not new to representing Guam after playing for the Northern Mariana Islands in the 2009 FIBA Oceania Tournament in Saipan and the 2010 Micronesian Games in Palau.
He first played for Guam in the FIBA Asia Cup qualifier where they suffered a 113-94 loss to New Zealand in February 2020. He tallied four points, four rebounds, and five assists.
Cruz suited up for the Philippines during his collegiate years when he was part of the Sinag Pilipinas team that won a gold medal in the 2013 Southeast Asian Games in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.
Come the Pampanga bubble, Guam will take on Hong Kong consecutively on June 16 and 18 before facing Australia, New Zealand, and Australia again.
“I’m excited to play against other countries. I’ve experienced playing against them during my amateur years but not when I was a pro,” he said.
“I’m excited to play and at the same time excited to learn dahil nakalaban ko sila,” the Ilonggo added. “Baka madala ko ‘yung experience na ‘yun sa All-Filipino Conference ng PBA.”/PN
