SAN Miguel coach Leo Austria said the Beermen were fortunate to land Jericho Cruz in free agency midway through the 2021 PBA Governors’ Cup campaign.
Austria said Cruz is definitely a huge addition to San Miguel in its bid to get back to the winner's circle after a number of key roster changes.
“He is so welcome dahil alam naman natin what type of player he is. He is a two-way player. And in the future, makukuha rin niya kung ano talaga ‘yung meron itong San Miguel,” said Austria.
Cruz had a low-key San Miguel debut on Thursday, scoring three points and grabbing two rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench in the 104-100 win over Rain or Shine.
Cruz and Austria spent time together as Adamson player and coach in college, but the latter said he wasn't the reason for the former NLEX standout joining the Beermen.
“Actually, hindi naman ‘yun ang reason kung bakit siya pumunta [dito]. Hindi ako," said the SMB coach. "Even before [when] he was not in the PBA, he [already] wants to be in the San Miguel team. Fortunately, ako ang coach ngayon.”
SMB love
“After ng kanyang first three years [sa PBA], he asked me how [he can] get to San Miguel. [Sabi ko] it’s hard because you are a key player [and it won't happen] unless some teams will trade you to San Miguel.
"But it didn’t happen, until dumating itong free agency. I didn’t know na merong mga feelers, siguro ‘yung manager niya na nakikipag-usap sa amin,” said Austria.
Cruz signed with San Miguel just last Tuesday, so it is just natural that the 31-year-old is still finding his way with the Beermen. But Austria assured that Cruz will play a crucial role when the team enters the playoffs.
“He could score. He could play, pero nangangapa pa siya. But come playoff time, I think they will be utilized well," he said.
“Jericho is very impressive. Most of his teammates and management is happy with him. In the first half, I think everybody was impressed at him. Hopefully in the next few games, makasama na talaga siya sa rotation."
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