Jericho Cruz
Filipino basketball player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jericho Xavier Setubal Cruz (born October 11, 1990) is a Filipino-Guamanian professional basketball player for the San Miguel Beermen of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He has earned multiple accolades throughout his career, including five PBA titles and a Finals MVP award. Internationally, he has won a gold medal with the Philippines at the 2013 SEA Games and is currently competing for Guam in major FIBA tournaments.
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Cruz with Rain or Shine in 2016 | |
| No. 39 – San Miguel Beermen | |
|---|---|
| Position | Shooting guard |
| League | PBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | October 11, 1990 |
| Nationality | Filipino / Guamanian / 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 (Susupe, Saipan) |
| College | RTU Adamson |
| PBA draft | 2014: 1st round, 9th overall pick |
| Drafted by | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters |
| Playing career | 2014–present |
| Career history | |
| 2014–2018 | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters |
| 2018–2019 | TNT KaTropa |
| 2019–2022 | NLEX Road Warriors |
| 2022–present | San Miguel Beermen |
| Career highlights | |
Medals | |
Early life and high school
Cruz was born in Pasig of Metro Manila in the Philippines but would spend most of his childhood in Saipan of the Northern Mariana Islands.[1]
Prior to 2004, he would play basketball for the G-Rollers of Garapan.[2][3]
He would attend the Marianas High School for his secondary education.[4]
College career
Cruz decided to try his luck in the Philippines to pursue a nursing degree.[3] He was playing basketball in a barangay league in Cainta, where his uncle lived, when he was discovered by the coach of Rizal Technological University.[5] He initially played for RTU in 2010, the same year when the Blue Thunder ruled the State Colleges and Universities Athletic Association.[6]
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 in 2010 and Colegio de Sta. Monica in 2011.[7] He was a member of the Mythical Team in 2011.[8]
Cruz was spotted by then Adamson Soaring Falcons coach Leo Austria while playing in a tournament in Bacolod as well as in the 2010 Philippine University Games in Dumaguete City, who then recruited him.[9][5] 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.[10] He then averaged 14 points per game in the 2013 UAAP season, but they did not make the playoffs.[11][12] After the season, Austria stepped down as Adamson's head coach. Cruz then elected to forgo his final year with the Falcons and applied for the 2014 PBA draft.[13][11]
Professional career
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (2014–2018)
Cruz was drafted 9th overall by Rain or Shine in the 2014 PBA draft.[14] In the preseason, he was fined ₱20,000 for hitting Enrico Villanueva in a preseason brawl.[15]
On December 5, 2014, he registered his first breakout game against Alaska, finishing with 16 points on 6-for-7 shooting and made a clutch go-ahead putback with 18.5 seconds remaining.[16] Two days later, he suffered a broken foot during their game against Ginebra and was out for the rest of the All-Filipino conference.[17] He returned to active play in the 2015 Commissioner's Cup playoffs.[18] He was named to the All-Rookie Team for the 2014–15 season.[19]
Cruz began the 2015–16 season with 15 points and five rebounds in a win over the Star Hotshots.[20] He then had what was his career-high of 23 points in a win over the Blackwater Elite.[21] In the Commissioner's Cup, he was Rain or Shine's second-leading scorer behind J.R. Quiñahan.[22] Rain or Shine went on to win the title that conference, with him as their second-leading scorer behind Paul Lee.[23][22] During the 2016 All-Star Weekend, he made his first appearance at the All-Star Game for the South Team and won the Shooting Stars contest.[24][25] He was recognized during the 2016 PBA Leo Awards as he bagged the Most Improved Player trophy and won the Mr. Quality Minutes from the PBA Press Corps Awards.[26][27]
In the offseason, Quiñahan and Lee departed from the team, as did head coach Yeng Guiao.[28] In the 2016–17 Philippine Cup, Cruz was able to lead Rain or Shine to its ninth straight playoff appearance in the Philippine Cup.[29] Throughout the 2017 Commissioner's Cup, he dealt with a plantar fasciitis injury on his right foot.[30] He was also an All-Star that season for the Visayas team.[31]
During the 2017–18 season, Cruz requested to be traded away from the team.[32]
TNT KaTropa (2018–2019)
On February 15, 2018, Cruz was traded to TNT KaTropa in exchange for rookie Sidney Onwubere, Kris Rosales, and a 2018 first round pick.[33] In his TNT debut, he had 17 points, four assists, three rebounds, and two steals and a win over the NLEX Road Warriors.[34] He helped them secure the last slot in the 2017–18 Philippine Cup playoffs.[35] He made the All-Star game as well for a third straight season.[36]
During the 2019 Philippine Cup, Cruz injured his hamstring during a team practice.[37] Expected to be out for a month, he came back six days earlier.[38] In April, he was placed back on the injury reserve due to his hamstring and was unable to play for two months.[39][40]
NLEX Road Warriors (2019–2022)
On June 10, 2019, Cruz was traded to the NLEX Road Warriors in a three-team trade involving NLEX, TNT, and NorthPort Batang Pier.[41] The trade reunited him with Guiao and Quiñahan.[42][43] Although they lost in his debut to the Hotshots, he was able to play for 27 minutes.[44] In his second game with the team, he had 16 points, six assists, three rebounds, and a steal coming off the bench as NLEX got its first win of the Commissioner's Cup over the Meralco Bolts.[45] During the Governors' Cup, he hit a go-ahead three with 20 seconds left in overtime as NLEX completed a comeback from 28 points down to beat Barangay Ginebra.[46] A month later, he made a game-winning putback over the Hotshots, similar to his putback against Alaska five years ago.[47] However, they lost in the quarterfinals to NorthPort.[48]
In the offseason, on December 16, 2019, Cruz was signed to a two-year maximum deal worth ₱10 million.[49] During the 2020 Philippine Cup, Cruz sprained his ankle.[50] He came back a week after the injury against NorthPort.[51] He then made five three-pointers in a win over his former team TNT.[52] NLEX just barely missed the playoffs that conference.[53]
On December 31, 2021, he became an unrestricted free agent, but he eventually re-signed a two-month deal with NLEX on January 20, 2022.[54]
San Miguel Beermen (2022–present)
On March 1, 2022, he became an unrestricted free agent again after not re-signing with NLEX.[55] He immediately signed a three-year contract with the San Miguel Beermen on the same day.[56] He declined offers from two teams of the Japanese B.League preferring to stay with his family in the Philippines.[4] Signing with San Miguel also reunited him with college coach Leo Austria and college teammate Rodney Brondial, who had also signed with the team in free agency.[57] Four months thereafter, Cruz set his career-high 30 points in SMB's tough win over TNT.[58] He then missed two games due to health protocols.[59] In Game 5 of the 2022 Philippine Cup semis, he contributed 17 points as SMB took a 3–2 lead in the best-of-seven series against Meralco.[60] SMB then won the next game to enter the finals.[61] Cruz and SMB were able to win the title in seven games over his former team TNT.[5][62] For the 2022–23 season, Cruz averaged 11.3 points and won the Mr. Quality Minutes award.[63]
During the 2023–24 Commissioner's Cup, Cruz accumulated five technical fouls throughout the conference, which led to him being suspended for Game 3 of the finals against the Hotshots.[64] Down 2–1, he returned in Game 4 and in Game 5 tied his career-high of 30 points on eight triples to give SMB a 3–2 lead.[65] SMB then won Game 6 for his second championship with the franchise, and third overall.[66] To begin the 2024 Philippine Cup, Cruz led the team with 20 points in a win over Rain or Shine.[67] From there, they won 10 straight before a loss to Meralco prevented them from sweeping the elimination round.[68] SMB made it to the finals that conference, but lost to Meralco 4–2.[69]
On February 7, 2025, Cruz signed a two-year extension to stay with SMB.[70] He missed a game during the 2025 Philippine Cup due to conjunctivitis.[71] As the first seed that conference, SMB reached the semifinals against Ginebra.[72][73] In Game 5, he scored a season-high 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field off the bench to give SMB a 3–2 series lead.[74] Ginebra won Game 6 off a LA Tenorio buzzer-beater he failed to defend, but SMB were able to close out the series in Game 7 to enter the finals.[75] In the finals, they faced TNT, who were going for a grand slam.[76] In Game 2, he had seven assists as SMB tied the series.[77] He then had 23 points in Game 4 and 20 points in Game 5.[78] SMB then won Game 6 to deny TNT the grand slam.[79] For the series, he averaged 13.8 points, 3,5 rebounds and 3.3 assists and won his first-ever Finals MVP and fourth PBA title overall.[78][80]
PBA career statistics
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | MPG | Minutes per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage |
| 3FG% | 3-point field-goal percentage | 4P% | 4-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 |
As of the end of 2024–25 season[81]
Season-by-season averages
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | 4P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Rain or Shine | 40 | 17.0 | .421 | .237 | — | .861 | 2.4 | 1.4 | .7 | .0 | 6.6 |
| 2015–16 | Rain or Shine | 53 | 24.4 | .483 | .367 | — | .748 | 3.2 | 2.1 | .8 | .1 | 12.5 |
| 2016–17 | Rain or Shine | 38 | 23.8 | .396 | .306 | — | .735 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 9.8 |
| 2017–18 | Rain or Shine | 27 | 20.7 | .415 | .355 | — | .710 | 2.9 | 2.8 | 1.3 | .1 | 8.0 |
| TNT | ||||||||||||
| 2019 | TNT | 25 | 23.3 | .372 | .270 | — | .719 | 3.8 | 3.4 | .9 | — | 9.4 |
| NLEX | ||||||||||||
| 2020 | NLEX | 10 | 25.9 | .516 | .383 | — | .696 | 2.5 | 3.8 | 1.3 | .2 | 13.2 |
| 2021 | NLEX | 26 | 24.6 | .432 | .256 | — | .698 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 1.3 | .1 | 9.5 |
| San Miguel | ||||||||||||
| 2022–23 | San Miguel | 56 | 24.8 | .440 | .322 | — | .718 | 2.6 | 2.6 | .8 | .1 | 11.3 |
| 2023–24 | San Miguel | 39 | 24.9 | .424 | .313 | — | .760 | 2.8 | 1.9 | .7 | .1 | 10.6 |
| 2024–25 | San Miguel | 56 | 21.0 | .399 | .286 | .208 | .816 | 2.6 | 2.3 | .5 | .0 | 8.1 |
| Career | 370 | 22.8 | .429 | .312 | .208 | .757 | 3.0 | 2.4 | .9 | .1 | 9.8 | |
National team 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.[82]
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.[10] At the 2010 Micronesian Games, Cruz played for the Guam national team and won a gold medal.[83] In January 2020, Cruz received a call-up to play for Guam at the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.[84][85] He helped lead Guam to its first-ever appearance at the FIBA Asia Cup in 2025.[86]
Personal life
Cruz is married to Mossah "Mosh" Carlos.[87][15] They have three children.[87] He owned a gym where Kenneth Llover used to train.[88]