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

Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League The Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines. History Manny Pacquiao launched the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League on August 29, 2017, starting off as a semi-professional lea ...

(MPBL). 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, (transl: College of 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 i ...

and played for the

Letran Knights The Letran Knights are the collegiate varsity teams representing Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The collegiate women's varsity teams are called the ''Lady Knights'', while the high school varsity t ...

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 ...

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 t ...

, and later

Kevin Racal Kevin Kent Relato Racal (born May 16, 1991) is a Filipino people, Filipino professional basketball player who plays for the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association, PBA. College career Racal first studied at the Pamantasan n ...

and Rey Nambatac, he propelled the Knights to the finals in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, only to lose to the

San Beda Red Lions The San Beda Red Lions is the collegiate varsity basketball team of the San Beda University that plays in the NCAA. The juniors basketball team is called the Red Cubs of San Beda University–Rizal, while the women's varsity basketball team is c ...

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 currently serves as head coach for the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He formerly played (in late 90s) and coached ...

, leading the Knights in his final collegiate year. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, he led the Knights to an NCAA Championship against their

nemesis In ancient Greek religion, Nemesis, also called Rhamnousia or Rhamnusia ( grc, Ῥαμνουσία, Rhamnousía, the goddess of Rhamnous), was the goddess who personifies retribution, a central concept in the Greek world view. Etymology The n ...

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, Inc., a subsidiary of San Migue ...

. 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 the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

In May 2016, Cruz was traded by Star to

Phoenix Fuel Masters The Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters is a professional basketball team owned by Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc., which debuted in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) in the 2016 Commissioner's Cup. The franchise began after the comp ...

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 Nor ...

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, primarily off University of the Philippines Diliman, Diliman, which play in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP), the premiere ...

star and PBA player

Marvin Cruz Marvin Lu Cruz (born December 31, 1985) is a Filipino free agent professional basketball player who lastly played for the GlobalPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association. He is the older brother of Mark L. Cruz that also plays a ...

. His favorite player growing up was

Jimmy Alapag Jim Olmedo Alapag (born December 30, 1977) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He serves as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He is nicknamed "The Mighty Mouse" and "The Captain". Early lif ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz, Mark 1992 births Living people Blackwater Bossing players Filipino men's basketball players Letran Knights basketball players Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters players Point guards Basketball players from Quezon City Magnolia Hotshots players Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League players Magnolia Hotshots draft picks