MANILA – Jericho Cruz is proud to have made history with Guam's national basketball team in the recently concluded FIBA Asia Cup in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The PBA Season 49 Finals Most Valuable Player suited up for Guam in their 82-73 win against Syria, where he tallied 21 points off five triples.
This would be Guam's only victory in its debut in the regional tournament.
In its next two assignments against Japan and South Korea, Cruz was unable to play due to a hamstring injury.
Despite this, Cruz said his experience with Guam in the FIBA Asia Cup was still one for the books since it was their first appearance in the continental stage.
READ: Jericho Cruz ready for Guam's debut in Asia Cup
"We made history there. We won one game. Kasi coming from a small island na hindi alam ng iba kung saan, but we went to the big stage which is the FIBA Asia Cup," he told reporters at the sidelines of the Kenneth Llover vs. Luis Concepcion bout on Sunday.
"Yun nga nanalo kami. Sobrang blessed kami na to get one win to make a history for the island of Guam," Cruz added.
For Cruz, a four-time PBA champion, their debut campaign showed Guam how far they have to go as a developing basketball nation. Nonetheless, it was a precious experience for him on a personal level.
"Yung mga competition hindi ganung kadali. Mahirap talaga. So kailangan mo pagtrabahuan every minute na nasa loob ka ng court. Pero the same time, happy ako. I get to meet other people, other players from different country, different country from Asia," he said.
Cruz said he's not yet thinking about the upcoming FIBA World Cup Qualifiers window in November, where Guam will be facing Gilas Pilipinas.
"Malakas naman yung Gilas. Di ko alam kung manalo kami but we'll give ourselves a chance to win that game. Alam naman natin mga 2% to 3% lang yung chance namin doon. So I would just enjoy the game," he said.