{"id":180237,"date":"2014-09-26T04:00:03","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T18:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=180237"},"modified":"2014-09-26T04:00:03","modified_gmt":"2014-09-25T18:00:03","slug":"supportive-mom-helps-jericho-reach-dreams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/supportive-mom-helps-jericho-reach-dreams\/","title":{"rendered":"Supportive mom helps Jericho reach dreams"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jericho<\/a>
Jericho Cruz, seen here watching a collegiate league game in the Philippines, said listening to his mother Arlene\u2019s advices and guidance help him achieve his dreams. (KC Cruz)<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\nJericho Cruz won\u2019t be able to achieve his dreams if not for the guidance and support of his mom Arlene.<\/p>\n

Arlene was his son\u2019s first fan when the 22-year-old cager started playing for the then G-Rollers at the Garapan Basketball Court more than 10 years ago.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 2014, Cruz is set to make his debut in the 40th season of the Philippine Basketball Association\u2014Asia\u2019s first pay-for-play and the second oldest continuously existing league in the world next to the NBA\u2014with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.<\/p>\n

Arlene said that she always remind her two sons\u2014Jericho and the younger Jayjay\u2014that they can achieve their dreams if they patiently work hard for it.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe it a small or big dream if you put your mind into it and you are determined to reach your goals, one day you can accomplish them. All you need is patience,\u201d said the elder Cruz, who now lives and work in Houston, Texas.<\/p>\n

Jayjay is already in high school in Houston and also played basketball before shifting to powerlifting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve supported Jericho\u2019s every step and decision that he made. As long as I know that it is the right decision, I\u2019m behind him 100 percent. We\u2019ve been like that ever since,\u201d Arlene said.<\/p>\n

Arlene added that she was extremely happy when her son told him that he was chosen ninth overall by Rain or Shine in last month\u2019s PBA Rookie Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me, \u2018Mom, before I used to dream of playing in the PBA. Now, I\u2019m already here.\u2019 That\u2019s why I\u2019m happy on what he has accomplished. Not everyone is given with that kind of talent,\u201d Arlene said.<\/p>\n

To be God fearing and respect to the elderly are also some of the values that she taught Jericho while he was growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important for a parent to support their kids\u2019 dreams, not what we wanted. Parents should always be behind the scenes,\u201d added Arlene, who last met Jericho when he was still playing for the Adamson University Falcons in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP).<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was last year and we watched the UAAP opening where I also met his now wife, Mosh. I haven\u2019t seen them after that, so I\u2019m very excited to play with my grandchild,\u201d she added. (Jon Perez)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jericho Cruz won\u2019t be able to achieve his dreams if not for the guidance and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":180247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[225,63],"class_list":["post-180237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-garapan-basketball-court","tag-philippines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}