MANILA – San Miguel Beermen guard Jericho Cruz was surprised with the tirades against him by TNT Tropang 5G team manager Jojo Lastimosa following their 105-91 Game 4 win in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals on Sunday night.
According to Cruz, he was not “showboating,” as alleged by Lastimosa, as he pulled off a skipping dribble while bringing the ball down in the final seconds of the Beermen victory.
“Wala naman akong ginagawang masama. Tsaka patapos na ‘yung laro. Siyempre tumatalon ako, masaya ako, panalo kami eh, hindi showboating ‘yun,” Cruz said.
“Hindi ko nga siya (Lastimosa) tinignan eh, hindi ko alam ‘yun,” he added. “Wala naman akong problema kay Coach Jolas. Kilala ko naman ‘yan, kilala naman niya ako eh. Palagi kaming magkasama dati niyan sa NLEX (Road Warriors).”
“Kaya nagulat ako noong sinabi mo sa akin na ako ‘yun. Wala talaga akong alam, promise,” the former Adamson University Falcons star further said.
In a separate interview, Lastimosa accused the Iloilo City-native Cruz of acting like a little boy with his antics inside the court.
“Nagkasama kami niyan sa NLEX, with coach Yeng (Guiao), ngayon dinadaan na lang niya sa yabang lahat eh. The guy has problems, I know he has problems, dinadala niya lang sa court. Wala munang kaibigan dito, walang kaibigan, he is just acting up, he is like a little boy,” Lastimosa said.
However, Cruz said he refused to be affected by the tirades of Lastimosa and will just focus on helping the Beermen complete their championship run in Game 5 on Wednesday night.
“At the end of the day, it’s just basketball,” Cruz said. “After basketball, we go home, and we’re still friends. Bukas, basketball ulit. ‘Yun lang naman ang buhay namin eh, buhay basketball player.”
“Pag-uwi namin, kasama yung family namin, enjoy na, wala munang basketball. Pero ‘pag sa court, trabaho talaga namin yun kaya I give my 110 percent every time I step on the floor, kahit anong team ako,” he added./PN
