Jericho Cruz-led Guam bows to Iran in FIBA Asia Cup

FILIPINO-Guamanian standout Jericho Cruz of San Miguel Beermen (SMB) served as one of the few silver linings as Guam — like his compatriot Gilas Pilipinas — stumbled in its 2025 FIBA Asia Cup debut on Thursday at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The PBA star nearly anchored a second-half comeback but powerhouse Iran proved too strong to handle in the end game en route to a 77-52 win in Group B.

Freshly crowned as the 2025 PBA Philippine Cup Finals MVP last month, Mr. Cruz tallied 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 32 minutes of play to join Tai Wesley (18) as the only double-digit scorer for Guam.

The former Adamson University stalwart poured nine of his total output in the second half, where Guam clawed back from 21 points down to strike within 41-52 after being limited to just 20 points in the first half.

Iran, however, went on a 25-11 finishing kick in the payoff period for the convincing 25-point victory over Guam in its first-ever Asia Cup appearance.

Up next for Guam is Syria on Saturday and Japan on Sunday. Japan scored an easy 99-68 win over Syria in the other opening match of Group B.

Matin Aghajanpour (19), Sina Vahedi (15), Mohammed Amini (11) and Arsalan Kazemi (10) led Iran ushering in a new era without long-time anchor Hamed Haddadi, who led the team’s Asian domination in two decades.

“I’m proud of my team for the fight that they put on. The idea was that we want to make sure that some of our players who played big minutes can stay healthy, prepare for more competition and give our young players some experience,” said coach EJ Calvo.

Mr. Cruz is coming off an impressive performance with averages of 13.83 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.33 assists in the Beermen’s Philippine Cup title feat to spoil the grand slam bid of the TNT Tropang 5G in the PBA.

And the 34-year-old guard is certainly bringing that to Guam, where he grew up before studying in Adamson, playing in the UAAP and later in the PBA as the ninth overall pick by Rain or Shine in 2014.

Mr. Cruz, before his Asia Cup debut, was also welcomed by Gilas Pilipinas featuring his SMB teammates CJ Perez and June Mar Fajardo as well as San Miguel Corp. sports director Alfrancis Chua in a team dinner before the tournament. — John Bryan Ulanday