JERICHO Cruz made his presence felt in his Guam debut in the Fiba Asia Cup 2021 qualifiers, but New Zealand proved too strong for the home team, 113-94, on Sunday at the Calvo Fieldhouse.
Cruz, who was born in the Phlilippines but grew up in Guam, scored four points on 2-of-8 shooting while starting in the backcourt but made up for the poor shooting with four rebounds, a steal and a team-high five assists in 28 minutes.
The Tall Blacks, however, got their way in the qualifier against the home side in a fitting follow-up to their 108-98 win over rival Australia last Thursday.
Shea Ili scored 25 points and Reuben Te Rangi added 17 as New Zealand completed a sweep of its first two matches in Group C. The second window of the qualifiers will be played in November.
Guam was led by the 21 points of Earnest Lee Ross, Jr.
On the other hand, the Aussies bounced back from the loss to New Zealand by beating Hong Kong, 115-52, while Korea completed a sweep of its Group A matches in the first window by holding off Thailand, 93-86.
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