Jericho Cruz in awe of 30-point outburst in Game 5

With their starters misfiring, San Miguel turned to Jericho Cruz in the crucial Game 5 encounter against Magnolia in the PBA Commissioner's Cup finals.

The 33-year-old gunner didn't disappoint as he dropped 30 points built on 8-of-14 shooting from deep to help the Beermen gut out a 108-98 win and move a victory away from the franchise's 29th overall title. 

Even Cruz was in awe of how his individual performance turned out, sharing that he has been working on his shots in practice.

"Hindi ako masyadong makasalita ngayon kasi parang I’m so happy na maganda ‘yung nilaro ko and panalo pa kami," Cruz said in the post-game interview.

"Medyo speechless pa ako ngayon. Parang nasa ere pa ako ngayon."

(I could not speak now because I am very happy with the way I played today and we won. I'm kind of speechless. I'm still in cloud nine.)

Cruz, however, insisted he's always ready whenever his name gets called up by coach Jorge Gallent amidst a deep San Miguel rotation. 

Aside from his 30 points that tied his playoff career-high, the former Adamson star also had an all-around number with eight rebounds, four assists, and four steals as the Beermen regained a 3-2 series lead. 

Cruz said he just accepted the challenge to step up with their starters Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez struggling on offense. Lassiter finished with just two points while Perez was limited to just eight with another veteran in Chris Ross only putting up two points. 

"''Pag masama ‘yung laro ng isa, there’s always one person who will man up. ‘Yun lang ginagawa namin, talagang once we’re given a chance to play on the court, we just need to provide," Cruz added.

(If one has an off night, there's always one person who will man up. That's what we do, every time we're given a chance to play on the court, we just need to provide.)

—JKC, GMA Integrated News