Jericho Cruz

This name uses Philippine naming customs. The first or maternal family name is Setubal and the second or paternal family name is Cruz.
Jericho Cruz
No. 9 – Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Position Point guard / Shooting guard
League PBA
Personal information
Born (1990-10-11) October 11, 1990
Pasig, Philippines
Nationality Filipino / Northern Mariana Islander
Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight 190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school Marianas High School (Saipan CNMI)
College Rizal Technological University
Adamson University
PBA draft 2014 Round: 1 / Pick: 9th overall
Selected by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Playing career 2014–present
Career history
2014–present Rain or Shine Elasto Painters
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Philippines
Southeast Asian Games
2013 Naypyidaw Team

Jericho Xavier Setubal Cruz (born October 11, 1990) is a Filipino-Northern Mariana Islander basketball player[1] who currently plays for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

High school and college career

Cruz started his basketball career in Saipan where he helped the CNMI national basketball team finish sixth in the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament leading CNMI to a sixth place finish and in the process, was voted as one of the tournament's Top 5 players.

He then decided to try his luck in the Philippines where he initially played for Rizal Technological University in 2010, the same year when the Blue Thunder ruled the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association.

He was also a member of RTU’s two-time runner up squad in the National Capital Region Athletic Association where the Blue Thunder lost to Olivarez College and Colegio de Sta. Monica in 2010 and 2011. He was a member of the Mythical Team in 2011.

He was spotted by then Adamson Soaring Falcons coach Leo Austria while playing in a tournament in Bacolod. He averaged 10.1 points per game in his first tour of duty with the Falcons in the 2011 FilOil Flying V Preseason tournament then averaged 12.3 markers per outing in his rookie year with Adamson in the 2012 UAAP season.[2]

He elected to forgo his final year with the Falcons and applied for the 2014 PBA draft.

Professional career

Cruz was drafted 9th overall by Rain or Shine in the 2014 PBA draft.[3] and was considered as a "steal" by basketball experts. On December 5, 2014, he registered his first breakout game against Alaska, finishing 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting.[4] Two days later, he suffered a broken foot during their game against Ginebra and was out for the rest of the All-Filipino conference.[5] He has since returned to active play in the 2015 Commissioner's Cup.

He was recognized during the 2016 PBA Leo Awards as he bagged the Most Improved Player trophy.[6]

PBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played  MPG  Minutes per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage
 3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Correct as of September 23, 2016[7]

Season-by-season averages

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2014–15 Rain or Shine 40 16.8 .406 .237 .861 2.4 1.4 .7 .0 6.4
2015–16 Rain or Shine 53 24.3 .493 .367 .748 3.2 2.0 .9 .1 12.5
Career 93 21.1 .468 .326 .792 2.9 1.8 .8 .1 9.9

International career

Cruz was a part of the Philippines team that won the gold medal at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament in Naypyidaw, Myanmar.

He has also represented the Northern Mariana Islands at the youth level, playing in the 2008 FIBA Oceania Youth Tournament leading CNMI to a sixth place finish and in the process, was voted as one of the tournament's Top 5 players,[2] and in the 2010 Micronesian Games.

References

  1. ↑ Player Profile at PBA-Online!
  2. 1 2 Dayao, Jun (April 21, 2014). "Jericho eyes PBA stint". Saipan Tribune. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  3. ↑ "2014 PBA Draft Results". InterAksyon. August 24, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Rookie Jericho Cruz comes up big as Rain or Shine leapfrogs Alaska, moves into second place". InterAksyon. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
  5. ↑ Joble, Rey (December 10, 2014). "Rain or Shine rookie Jericho Cruz out for the conference after fracturing ankle". InterAksyon. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Jericho Cruz named as 2016 Most Improved Player". PinoyBoxBreak. Retrieved October 18, 2016.
  7. ↑ Player at PBA-Online!
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/31/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.