ANTIPOLO – Jericho Cruz was badly missed by San Miguel in its exit in the PBA Governors Cup playoffs.
The tough-playing guard had a stiff neck that prevented him from suiting up for the Beermen in 110-94 loss to Barangay Ginebra in the do-or-die Game 5 of their quarterfinals series Tuesday night at the Ynares Center.
“Eto may stiff neck,” he shared to SPIN.ph, saying the words while unable to move his head. “Siyempre masakit.”
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He then showed how the strained ligament was fully covered by a kinesiology tape.
The 36-year-old Cruz was in a San Miguel jersey, but spent the entire game sitting and cheering the Beermen from the bench.
Cruz averaged 8.0 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists for the team this conference.
For the quarterfinals, he submitted numbers of 10.0 points and 4.0 rebounds as one of coach Leo Austria’s reliable backup from the bench.
He was later seen having a brief talk with Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone and deputy coach Johnny Abarrientos shortly after the loss that eliminated San Miguel in the quarterfinals for the second straight conference in Season 50.
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