JERICHO Cruz played down the heated exchange he had with RR Pogoy that marred the fourth quarter of San Miguel’s win over TNT on Thursday night.
Cruz scored a career-high 30 points in San Miguel’s win over TNT, 115-99, but he was also slapped with a technical foul for the spat with Pogoy.

The incident began when Pogoy committed a hard foul on Cruz while trying to defend his former TNT teammate a couple of years ago at the 4:09 mark.
Cruz, who had a forgettable stay at TNT that saw him get mothballed before he was traded to NLEX, confronted Pogoy before both players were separated by teammates.
[See SMB deals TNT a heaving beating, seizes solo lead]
Prior to the Pogoy hit, Cruz sent TNT big man Poy Erram to the floor with an elbow to the abdomen while trying to fight a pick.
Still, Cruz said the incident was not a big deal as it is part of the game.
“Konting lambingan lang ‘yun sa court,” said Cruz, who joined SMB last season as a free agent. “Baka na-miss lang niya ako. Iba ‘yung pagmamahal niya eh.”
Cruz said he and Pogoy approached each other during the traditional shaking of hands between the two teams without any fuss.
While he reacted to the hard foul by confronting Pogoy, Cruz said he will leave the incident on the court.
“Okay naman sa akin. Wala naman sa akin ‘yun. Sabi nga nila, kung marunong ka mag-hit, dapat marunong ka rin mag-take," he said. "Wala sa akin ‘yun. It’s just part of the game. Pag sa labas, we are friends naman."
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