SAN Miguel missed the services of tough guard Jericho Cruz due to conjunctivitis, commonly known as sore eyes.
Coach Leo Austria said Cruz had been afflicted by the virus since Monday or five days before the Beermen kicked off their campaign in the PBA Philippine Cup.
“Nagkaroon ng sore eyes and we don’t want him to spread the virus dahil alam naman natin yung sore eyes (nakakahawa). So for health reasons,” said Austria.
“Hindi namin tinatago ito because (it concerns) health.”
Despite the 34-year-old Cruz not around, the Beermen still got the job done against the NLEX Road Warriors behind a 98-89 win Saturday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
READ: San Miguel fends off late NLEX rally to get PH Cup campaign going
CJ Perez topscored for the 10-time All-Filipino champion with 28 points (11-of-21), while Juami Tiongson added 17 on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range as the two took charge in the endgame after the Road Warriors knotted the count at 85 with 1:43 left to play.
“Nakapag-practice pa siya (Cruz) ng dalawang lingo bago siya nagka-sore eyes,” said Perez of his San Miguel teammate.
Cruz just joined San Miguel in practice following his stint with the Guam national team in the final qualifier for the FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia this August.
The Adamson University product helped Guam secure a berth in the main draw on August 5-17 after finishing second behind fellow qualifier Chinese Taipei in Group G.
In his absence against NLEX, the Beermen also managed to give Jeron Teng extended minutes off the bench as he finished with six points, four rebounds, and two clutch free throws in the final 29 seconds that made it a 92-85 lead for San Miguel.
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