Jericho Cruz
Jericho Xavier Setubal Cruz (born October 11, 1990) is a Filipino-Guamanian basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
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| No. 39 – NLEX Road Warriors | ||||||||||||||
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| Position | Shooting guard | |||||||||||||
| League | PBA | |||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
| Born | October 11, 1990 Pasig, Philippines | |||||||||||||
| Nationality | Filipino / Guamanian / Northern Mariana Islander | |||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | |||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) | |||||||||||||
| Career information | ||||||||||||||
| High school | Marianas High School (Saipan CNMI) | |||||||||||||
| College | Rizal Technological University Adamson University | |||||||||||||
| PBA draft | 2014 Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall | |||||||||||||
| Selected by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | ||||||||||||||
| Playing career | 2014–present | |||||||||||||
| Career history | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2018 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | |||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | TNT KaTropa | |||||||||||||
| 2019–present | NLEX Road Warriors | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | ||||||||||||||
Medals
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High school and college career
Cruz started his basketball career in Saipan where he helped the CNMI national basketball team finish sixth in the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament leading CNMI to a sixth-place finish and in the process, was voted as one of the tournament's Top 5 players.
He then decided to try his luck in the Philippines where he initially played for Rizal Technological University in 2010, the same year when the Blue Thunder ruled the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association.
He was also a member of RTU’s two-time runner up squad in the National Capital Region Athletic Association where the Blue Thunder lost to Olivarez College and Colegio de Sta. Monica in 2010 and 2011. He was a member of the Mythical Team in 2011.
He was spotted by then Adamson Soaring Falcons coach Leo Austria while playing in a tournament in Bacolod. He averaged 10.1 points per game in his first tour of duty with the Falcons in the 2011 FilOil Flying V Preseason tournament then averaged 12.3 markers per outing in his rookie year with Adamson in the 2012 UAAP season.[1]
He elected to forgo his final year with the Falcons and applied for the 2014 PBA draft.
Professional career
Cruz was drafted 9th overall by Rain or Shine in the 2014 PBA draft.[2] and was considered as a "steal" by basketball experts. On December 5, 2014, he registered his first breakout game against Alaska, finishing 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting.[3] Two days later, he suffered a broken foot during their game against Ginebra and was out for the rest of the All-Filipino conference.[4] He has since returned to active play in the 2015 Commissioner's Cup.
He was recognized during the 2016 PBA Leo Awards as he bagged the Most Improved Player trophy.[5]
On February 15, 2018, he was traded to TNT KaTropa in exchange for rookie Sidney Onwubere, Kris Rosales and 2018 first round pick.[6]
PBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
As of the end of 2020 season[7]
Season-by-season averages
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Rain or Shine | 40 | 17.0 | .421 | .237 | .861 | 2.4 | 1.4 | .7 | .0 | 6.6 |
| 2015–16 | Rain or Shine | 53 | 24.4 | .483 | .367 | .748 | 3.2 | 2.1 | .8 | .1 | 12.5 |
| 2016–17 | Rain or Shine | 38 | 23.8 | .396 | .306 | .735 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 9.8 |
| 2017–18 | Rain or Shine / TNT | 27 | 20.7 | .415 | .355 | .710 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 1.3 | .1 | 8.0 |
| 2019 | TNT / NLEX | 25 | 23.3 | .372 | .270 | .719 | 3.8 | 3.4 | .9 | .0 | 9.4 |
| 2020 | NLEX | 10 | 25.9 | .516 | .383 | .696 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .2 | 13.2 |
| Career | 193 | 22.1 | .433 | .321 | .761 | 3.3 | 2.3 | .9 | .1 | 9.7 | |
International career
Cruz was a part of the Philippines team that won the gold medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.
He has also represented the Northern Mariana Islands at the youth level, playing in the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament leading CNMI to a sixth-place finish and in the process, was voted as one of the tournament's Top 5 players,[1] and in the 2010 Micronesian Games.
In January 2020, Cruz received a call-up to play for Guam at the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.[8]
References
- Dayao, Jun (April 21, 2014). "Jericho eyes PBA stint". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- "2014 PBA Draft Results". InterAksyon. August 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- "Rookie Jericho Cruz comes up big as Rain or Shine leapfrogs Alaska, moves into second place". InterAksyon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- Joble, Rey (December 10, 2014). "Rain or Shine rookie Jericho Cruz out for the conference after fracturing ankle". InterAksyon. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
- "Jericho Cruz named as 2016 Most Improved Player". PinoyBoxBreak. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
- Leongson, Randolph (February 15, 2018). "PBA greenlights Jericho Cruz trade to TNT". Inquirer. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
- Real GM
- Giongco, Mark (23 January 2020). "Jericho Cruz gets Guam call-up for Fiba Asia Cup qualifiers". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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