Jericho Cruz can now sleep as San Miguel subdued a hard-fighting Ginebra side to clinch a PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup finals berth against TNT.
When LA Tenorio swished the go-ahead triple in Jericho Cruz's face in the dying seconds of Game 6, the San Miguel guard admitted he couldn’t sleep that night.
Cruz kept thinking of ways to make up for allowing Tenorio’s heroic moment that enabled Ginebra to force a Game 7 in what turned out to be a classic PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup semifinals.
The burly ex-Adamson star did just that, cranking it up on defense as the Beermen finally vanquished San Miguel, 100-93, to arrange a showdown for the crown with Grand Slam-seeking TNT.
“Before niya (Tenorio) in-inbound 'yon, sabi ko, 'Kuya, kaya pa pala, eh.' Kasi pagpasok niya, immediate impact agad siya,” said Cruz.
“Pero noong na-shoot niya 'yon, na-realize ko, grabe, hindi ako pinatulog overnight. Hindi ako nakatulog talaga. Sabi ko, gusto kong bumawi. Thankfully, nanalo kami, so na-erase 'yon."
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Apart from going berserk on the defensive end, Cruz also nailed two crucial baskets, the last one was a breakaway layup that gave SMB an 81-77 lead with under eight minutes left to play.
But it was Chris Ross who stood out after putting up a 19-point performance, including seven inside the last four minutes.
Chris Ross flexes his veteran experience in Ginebra and San Miguel's final clash for the PBA championship berth. | Photo (c) RM Chua/One Sports
“Vintage, legend, Chris Ross. 'Yon lang ang masasabi ko sa kanya,” Cruz said of Ross, whose resilience was widely credited in SMB's pulling off the “Beeracle” almost a decade ago.
“Siya 'yong bumuhay ng team namin kanina. Nagsimula sa depensa niya. Sumunod na lang kami sa kaniya.”
[ALSO READ: Thompson lauds Ginebra vet Tenorio for heroic Game 6 showing: 'Classic, legend, idol']
The Beermen swiftly shift their focus on reclaiming the All-Filipino crown they ceded to Meralco last year.
“Para sa amin kasi, masakit sa amin 'yon. Kasi ilang years na ring straight na nag-champion 'yong San Miguel. So ngayong bago ang kalaban namin, which is MVP group din, TNT, pag-iigihan namin,” Cruz said.
“Pagbubutihan namin. Back to the drawing board, scouting report, more videos about sa kanila. We'll learn sa kung anong gagawin nila so we can apply it to the game. Ready naman kaming lahat, excited," he added.