CHICAGO - Four games into this ongoing PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals, Jericho Cruz was having a so-so series.
He sat out Game Three to serve an automatic suspension for collecting five technical fouls in the conference. In the three other contests where he suited up, he was unspectacular.
Just 29 points combined while shooting 11-of-29 from the field (37.9 percent) and a mediocre 4-of-14 from 3-point distance (28.5 percent).
READ Guiao's presence in Game 5 an added motivation for Jericho Cruz
But in last night's Game Five, the best-of-seven series in a dead heat at 2-2, the Fil-Guamanian came to life and the walls of Jericho fell hard on unsuspecting Magnolia.
Jericho Cruz turned into Jericho Curry. He swished 8-of-14 beyond the arc and connected on 11 of 22 shots overall to finish with 30 points.
It was a burst of brilliance that pushed San Miguel past Magnolia, 108-98, and on the cusp of claiming championship No. 29, the most in the PBA.
"All the credit goes to my teammates. I was just trying to be confident with my shots today. Shoutout to the coaching staff and coach Jorge (Gallent) for the opportunity," Jericho told me via text message moments after Game 5.
IN CRUZ CONTROL
In most of his shots, Cruz was as open as a 24-hour pharmacy, I wondered why that was.
"They were giving us outside shots. They were staying home with (import) Bennie (Boatwright), double- and triple-teaming him. I knew I had to hit those shots for them to ease on him a bit. I'm just glad and grateful that my teammates found me," Jericho explained.
Boatwright ended up with 21 points and six boards. June Mar Fajardo, impervious to a painful calf injury, was automatic once again with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Simon Enciso went bananas with five treys.
In the end, it was Cruz who fittingly thrust the dagger into Magnolia's Game Five hopes by dripping a 3 that handed San Miguel a 102-96 breathing room with 53 seconds left to play.
Magnolia actually shot better than San Miguel in Game Five - 44 to 41 percent from the field and 38 to 37 percent above the arc. One huge key for San Miguel, though, was mitigating the damage Mark Barroca inflicted.
Entering last night's tie-breaker, Barroca had been sizzling and put together 61 points, 15 rebounds and 15 assists. He still had a huge 7 rebounds and 7 assists in Game Five, but he was held to four points on 2-of-7 shooting.
"It's hard to slow down a player like Mark. He's been amazing this conference. Our goal was just to make it hard for him, make him take tough shots. But damn, I love Mark, he's a great guy on and off the court," Jericho said.
FUN FINALS.
Though it is not the box-office hit that a Ginebra versus TNT showdown would normally deliver in a battle featuring two corporate rivals, this sibling scrum between San Miguel and Magnolia is turning out to be an aesthetically pleasing championship.
And while coaches Gallent and Chito Victolero do not possess the media savvy of a Tim Cone or a Chot Reyes, their quiet, understated excellence has produced an entertaining chess match.
But Jericho weaved the most beautiful tale on Sunday night.
Still getting it done at age 33, he recreated the splendor that has made him a two-time All-Star and two-time PBA chamo.
Against the wonderfully physical Hotshots, Cruz manifested the traits of a hired gun:
Patient. Opportunistic. Lethal. And cold as iced beer.
One more outburst like this from Jericho is what separates the Beermen from the 2024 Commissioner's Cup.
As the iconic San Miguel ad once said, "Isa pa nga!"
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