THIS Big Dance battle has turned into a heated duel—even outside the court.
After Game 4 last Sunday night, TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa mouthed scathing remarks on San Miguel Beer guard Jericho Cruz, deeming the gung-ho player as “showboating.”
“Parang bastusan, eh. Hindi naman dapat ganoon, lahat naman tayo naglalaro ng basketball, but he was showboating,” Lastimosa said. “Magkasama kami sa NLEX niyan, with coach Yeng (Guiao) and wala, dinadaan niya na lang sa yabang lahat.
“The guy has problems, I know he has problems at dinadala niya na lang sa court. “Wala munang kaibigan dito. He’s just acting up. He’s just like a little boy,” he added.
The pro league’s 50 Greatest Players member-turned-executive’s fiery tirades came on the heels of the Beermen’s 105-91 victory in Game 4 of their best-of-7 finals clash in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Cruz, who played with the Road Warriors from 2019 to 2022 under Guiao and Lastimosa, who served as NLEX assistant coach, totaled a team-high 23 points, spiked by five three-pointers, and three rebounds in a stint where he celebrated every basket with bravado that earned the ire of Lastimosa.
The 6-foot-1 Cruz later on said he had no idea what Lastimosa was livid about, saying their time together at the Road Warriors’ camp was all good, and instead pointed to teammate and veteran playmaker Chris Ross as the one the PBA great was upset at.
Lastimosa also blasted Ross, taking to task one of SMB’s leaders for “taunting, habit of complaining, and pretending to be a nice guy in front of the Tropang 5G cagers’ wives and girlfriends.”
Ross, 40, fired back at Lastimosa’s comments on a lengthy social media post.
“I’m not a nice guy? You have no clue who I am as a person. The few times we spoke, I was as respectful as I could be, like my pop’s taught me,” Ross said on his X (formerly Twitter) account. “I didn’t do anything disrespectful to the wives; they were all cussing at me, which was uncalled for.
“I was checking on Poy (Erram) all game, asking if he was okay and after the game he was sitting alone so I told him how I felt about him, appreciating his courage to play but a group of people behind the bench started cursing at me.
“But I’m the bad person? Keep it on the court.”
With the Beermen going for the kill and TNT fighting for its life and Grand Slam hopes in the fifth match set tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, expect more drama to unfold.
