JERICHO Cruz was just one of the two Guamanians who breached double-digits as Guam dropped its 2025 FIBA Asia Cup opener to a young Iran side, 77-52, at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia early Thursday morning (Philippine time).
The Iranians finished the game with a 15-2 run to shut the door on the comebacking Guamanians behind the strong play of Cruz and Tai Wesley in the second half.
Guam fell behind by as many as 24 points after only finishing with 20 points in the first half.
They nearly made a game out of it after the recently-awarded PBA Finals MVP sparked a second half rally which got Guam to as close as 11, 52-41, by the end of the third quarter.
READ: Jericho Cruz joins Gilas dinner in Jeddah before Asia Cup
They were still within striking distance up until the final four minutes of the game but simply had nothing left in the gas tank when Iran proved to have one last rally in them.
Cruz finished with 11 points, nine of which coming in the second half, to go along four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Wesley led the way for Guam with 18 points and nine boards.
Matin Aghajanpour led Iran with 19 points on six triples, Mohammad Amini added 11 points and six rebounds while veteran big Arsalan Kazemi finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and three steals.
Guam gets a two-day rest before getting back-to-back games over the weekend, starting with Syria on Saturday, and Japan on Sunday.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
