Cruz PBA player of the week

MANILA, Philippines - Given the chance to shine, guard Jericho Cruz has seized the moment, putting up a couple of superb games to help carry Rain or Shine to victories and into a share of the lead in the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup.

“With Paul (Lee) injured, somebody has to fill in the gap and it boosts my confidence being able to have longer playing time,” said Cruz.

Against Barako Bull, the six-foot Cruz banged in 23 points, converting eight of his 10 shots to lift power Rain or Shine to a thrilling 110-104 win.

The former Adamson shooting guard reprised his role two days later, scoring 16 points, mostly on strong drives to the basket to lead the Elasto Painters past the bigger Barangay Ginebra Kings, 94-86 to book a quarterfinal seat.

His exploits did not go unnoticed as he earned the Accel-PBA Press Corps Player of the week honors for the period Nov. 24-29, beating Alaska forward Vic Manuel for the citation.