Mark Lu Cruz (born July 27, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the South Cotabato Warriors franchise of the

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's regional professional basketball league in the Philippines composed of 30 teams. Founded in 2017 by eight-division boxing world champion and then-Senator Manny Pacquiao, the MPBL is ...

(MPBL) and

Pilipinas Super League The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History The Pilipinas Super League (PSL) was founded in December 2021 by former officials the Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup, namely its former CEO Ro ...

(PSL). He earned the moniker Ant Man during his days in the NCAA.

College career

Cruz studied at the

Colegio de San Juan de Letran The Colegio de San Juan de Letran (), also referred to by its acronym CSJL, is a private Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution owned and run by the friars of the Order of Preachers in Intramuros, Manila, Philippines. I ...

and played for the

Letran Knights The Letran Knights and Lady Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The high school varsity teams are called the ''Squires''. The college's varsity te ...

varsity squad. Teaming up with

Kevin Alas Kevin Louie Platon Alas (born November 13, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted second overall by the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2 ...

and

Raymond Almazan Raymond Canaria Almazan (born August 2, 1989) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Meralco Bolts of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is nicknamed Rock N' Roll. College career He played for the Letran Knights in ...

, and later Kevin Racal and Rey Nambatac, he propelled the Knights to the finals in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, only to lose to the

San Beda Red Lions The San Beda Red Lions and Lionesses are the collegiate varsity teams of the San Beda University, best known for their basketball section.Malonso, J. ''"NCAA: A HISTORY''". NCAA(Phils) Homepage. Online. Internet. Accessed 23 May 200NCAA Philippi ...

on both occasions. After missing the Final Four the year before, he flourished under new coach

Aldin Ayo Aldin Valladolid Ayo (born October 15, 1977) is a Filipino basketball coach and politician who previously served as head coach for the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He formerly played (in late 90s) and coache ...

, leading the Knights in his final collegiate year. In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, he led the Knights to an NCAA Championship against their

nemesis In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...

San Beda, ending a 10-year title drought. He was awarded the Finals MVP.

Professional career

Cruz was drafted 30th overall in the 2015 Rookie Draft by the

Star Hotshots The Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, or simply known as the Magnolia Hotshots, are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is owned by San Miguel Food and Beverage, San Miguel Food and Beverage, I ...

. Unlike his fellow rookies, he signed a one-conference contract with the Hotshots. In his PBA debut he tallied 7 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in a loss to the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

In May 2016, Cruz was traded by Star to

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum, Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2015–16 PBA season, 2016 2016 PBA Commissioner's C ...

in a three-team trade that also involved

GlobalPort Batang Pier The NorthPort Batang Pier is a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) team that first played in the 2012–13 PBA season. The team took over the franchise of the Powerade Tigers in 2012 after it was sold to Sultan 900 Capital, Inc. Besides N ...

Personal life

Cruz is the younger brother of former

UP Fighting Maroons The UP Fighting Maroons are the collegiate varsity teams of the University of the Philippines Diliman. The teams play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the Philippines' premier college sports league. UP is one o ...

star and PBA player Marvin Cruz. His favorite player growing up was

Jimmy Alapag Jim Olmedo Alapag (born December 30, 1977) is a Filipino-American professional basketball coach and former player. He serves as the player development coach for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is nicknamed ...

. He took up a degree in Operations Management and hopes to start a business someday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Mark 1992 births Living people Filipino men's basketball players Basketball players from Quezon City Letran Knights basketball players Magnolia Hotshots draft picks Magnolia Hotshots players Phoenix Fuel Masters players Blackwater Bossing players Pampanga Giant Lanterns players Bicolandia Oragons players GenSan Warriors players Point guards 21st-century Filipino sportsmen