Jojo Lastimosa on SMB’s Jericho Cruz after heated Game 4: 'He was showboating'

Emotions ran high in Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup finals between TNT and San Miguel, and Tropang 5G manager Jojo Lastimosa didn’t hold back when addressing San Miguel guard Jericho Cruz’s on-court behavior.

Lastimosa called out Cruz for what he described as “showboating” during the heated matchup, which saw San Miguel eking out a 105-91 win to move up 3-1 in the series. 

The loss dealt a major blow to TNT’s Grand Slam hopes, as they now need to win three straight games to clinch their third title of the season

READ MORE | Jericho Cruz, CJ Perez heat up late as San Miguel nears return to PBA Philippine Cup throne

"Lahat naman tayo naglalaro ng basketball. He was showboating," an irate Lastimosa told reporters on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena. 

"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."

[We all play basketball. He was showboating… The guy has problems. I know he has problems and he’s bringing it onto the court. Let's set friendships aside first. He’s just acting up. He’s just like a little boy.]

Cruz — who unleashed 15 of his 23 points in a fourth quarter surge — was animated all game long as he led San Miguel to within one win of the title.

Cruz, though, was surprised by the remarks from Lastimosa, especially given the history between them. Cruz and Lastimosa were both with NLEX in the past. 

"Wala naman akong ginagawang masama e tsaka patapos na ‘yung laro, syempre tumatalon ako kasi masaya ako kasi panalo kami e. Hindi naman showboating ‘yun," Cruz said.

"Hindi ko nga alam ‘yun, ang alam ko nga si Chris Ross ‘yung inaaway nila at hindi ako. Ako, wala talaga akong alam. Kilala ko naman ‘yan, kilala ako niyan kaya nagulat ako nu’ng sinabi niya na ako."

[I didn’t do anything bad and the game was ending, of course I was jumping because I was happy that we won. That’s not showboating… I didn’t even know that, I know they were going at Chris Ross, not me. I didn’t know anything. I know him, he knows me, so I was surprised that he said it was me.]

—JMB, GMA Integrated News