Celino Salazar Cruz (born July 22, 1977) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. A deadly left-handed shooter, he is best known for his clutch plays. Cruz played eight seasons in the

Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of twelve company-branded franchised teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia and is the se ...

(PBA). After playing for the

Far Eastern University Far Eastern University ( Filipino: ''Pamantasan ng Malayong Silanganan''), also referred to by its acronym FEU, is a private non-sectarian liberal arts university in Manila, Philippines. Created by the merger of Far Eastern College and the Ins ...

(FEU)

Tamaraw The tamaraw or Mindoro dwarf buffalo (''Bubalus mindorensis'') is a small hoofed mammal belonging to the family Bovidae. It is endemic to the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, and is the only endemic Philippine bovine. It is believed, how ...

in college, Cruz was drafted by the

Talk 'N Text Phone Pals Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

nineteenth overall in the

2002 PBA draft The 2002 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) rookie draft was an event at which teams drafted players from the amateur ranks. It was held on January 13, 2002 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round ...

. He started his professional career as a rookie with the

Shell Turbo Chargers The Shell Turbo Chargers were a Philippine Basketball Association team from 1985 to 2005. It won four PBA championships, two from 1998 to 1999. Shell sold its franchise to PBL team Welcoat Paints in February 2006. Aside from being known as the T ...

in the 2004–05 PBA season, and later played for the

Red Bull Barako Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

before being traded to the Burger King Whoopers and then the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.

College

As a freshman, the 1999–2000 season, Cruz was already a starter on a relatively unheralded team. The

FEU Tamaraws The FEU Tamaraws are the varsity teams of Far Eastern University in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP). The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Tamaraws'' while the high school varsity teams are call ...

came into the season and predicted to finish not higher than sixth. But, the Tamaraws won an unexpected UAAP Championship. Cruz' sophomore season was his breakout year. He led the Tammaraws to their second consecutive UAAP Championship where he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament. The 2001–2002 season saw Cruz establish himself as one of the top amateur players in the nation. He was the leader of the team and was considered a "coach on the floor." He also received Player of the Year and the Silver Basketball award, and was named to the Mythical Second Team. Cruz then decided to leave college early after his junior year to play in the PBA.

PBA career

Ginebra

Barangay Ginebra traded

Paul Artadi Paul Anthony Dy Artadi (born May 5, 1981) is a Filipino politician, basketball coach, and former professional player. On his eleven-year career in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), he played the point guard position and was a three-ti ...

Rafi Reavis Rafael Reavis (born July 27, 1977) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Professional career Reavis first played for the San Juan Knights in the Metropol ...

, and the rights to

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

8th pick overall

Chris Timberlake Chris Timberlake (born April 28, 1985) is a Filipino-American former basketball player who last played for the Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional ba ...

for

Enrico Villanueva Jose Enrico Pascual Villanueva (born June 23, 1980) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He last played for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Amateur career Villanueva first played for the A ...

, Rich Alvarez, Celino Cruz, and Paolo Bugia of Purefoods. Burger King acted as the conduit team, trading

Pocholo Villanueva Pocholo "Cholo" Iñigo Villanueva (born November 24, 1982) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and head coach for the Batangas City Embassy Chill of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) and the De La Salle Lady Arche ...

to Ginebra and acquiring the rights to 2009 Rookie draft eighteenth pick Orlando Daroya and future picks.

Powerade

At the end of the 2009-10 PBA season, he was released by the

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

. Days after, he was signed by the

Powerade Tigers The Powerade Tigers were a professional basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association from 2002 to 2012. The franchise was owned by Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc. (CCBPI) when the company acquired Cosmos Bottling C ...

as a free agent. He played a key role on his first year as its starting point guard. Together with

Gary David Gary Ocampo David (born July 13, 1978) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He is a five-time All-Star and co-holds the longest streak for consecuti ...

, they became a one-two punch for their offense.

References

External links

Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Celino 1977 births Filipino men's basketball players FEU Tamaraws basketball players Living people Basketball players from Manila Magnolia Hotshots players Point guards Shell Turbo Chargers players Barako Bull Energy Boosters players Barako Bull Energy players Barangay Ginebra San Miguel players Powerade Tigers players Philippines men's national basketball team players Southeast Asian Games gold medalists for the Philippines Southeast Asian Games competitors for the Philippines Southeast Asian Games medalists in basketball Competitors at the 2003 Southeast Asian Games TNT Tropang Giga draft picks