Arthur dela Cruz

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For the New Mexico politician, see Art De La Cruz.
Arthur Dela Cruz
No. 18 – Davao Occidental Tigers
PositionSmall forward / power forward
LeagueMPBL
Personal information
Born (1992-05-09) May 9, 1992 (age 31)
San Miguel, Bulacan, Philippines
NationalityFilipino
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolSan Beda College
College
PBA draft2015: 1st round, 9th overall pick
Selected by the Blackwater Elite
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2017Blackwater Elite
2017–2020Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
2021–2023NorthPort Batang Pier
2023–presentDavao Occidental Tigers
Career highlights and awards

Arthur A. Dela Cruz Jr. (born May 9, 1992) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Davao Occidental Tigers of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL).

Early life and high-school career[edit]

Dela Cruz started playing basketball when he was in 4th grade at St. Mary’s Academy in Bulacan. It was his father, Arturo dela Cruz Sr., known as Art Dela Cruz, himself a former PBA player, who first introduced him to the sport. In high school, he played as power forward of the San Beda Red Cubs.[1]

College career[edit]

Dela Cruz first attended college at the Ateneo de Manila University for one year. He suited up for the Blue Eagles as a rookie in 2010 and played a key role in their campaign, when the Blue Eagles won the title that year. The following year, he returned to his high school alma mater, San Beda College, served one year of residency before finally seeing action for the Red Lions in 2012.[2] Initially, he was a backup to Jake Pascual, but he took the starting "4" slot when Pascual already played out his college eligibility in 2013. In that same year, the Red Lions won their fourth straight title at the expense of Letran, when he was awarded the Finals MVP.[3] In 2015, he led the Red Lions to the Finals once again, only to lose in three games at the expense of the Letran Knights. In his last collegiate game, he finished with a team-high 15 points on 8-of-12 shooting, 13 boards and was two assists shy of a triple-double, on top of two blocks and one steal in 34 minutes in the deciding Game Three.[4]

Professional career[edit]

Dela Cruz was picked ninth overall by the Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association in the 2015 PBA draft.[5] On October 30, 2015, he signed the two-year rookie deal with Blackwater.[6]

On August 31, 2017, dela Cruz, along with Raymond Aguilar, was traded to the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel for Chris Ellis and Dave Marcelo.[7]

On November 9, 2021, he was traded to the NorthPort Batang Pier for Sidney Onwubere.[8] He became an unrestricted free agent after the 2022–23 PBA season.[9]

PBA career statistics[edit]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

As of the end of 2022–23 season[10]

Season-by-season averages[edit]

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Blackwater 32 26.2 .506 .220 .662 4.7 2.2 1.7 .2 11.8
2016–17 Blackwater 12 31.1 .497 .000 .682 7.2 2.8 1.3 .1 14.3
2017–18 Barangay Ginebra 2 9.9 .286 .000 .500 3.0 2.0 1.0 .0 2.5
2019 Barangay Ginebra 32 17.4 .500 .235 .719 3.0 1.4 .8 .1 6.3
2020 Barangay Ginebra 5 10.7 .286 .000 .600 2.0 .2 .2 .0 2.2
2022–23 NorthPort 19 9.0 .479 .000 .857 1.4 .6 .4 .0 3.1
Career 102 19.7 .494 .208 .691 3.7 1.6 1.0 .1 8.1

Personal life[edit]

Dela Cruz is the son of former PBA player and current Terra Firma Dyip assistant coach Arturo dela Cruz. He took up AB in Communications in San Beda College and his long-term plan is to help his mother with their family business in Bulacan.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Carpio, Jillian (September 28, 2013). "Roaring Red Lion: Art dela Cruz". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  2. ^ Naredo, Camille B. (June 26, 2015). "San Beda's Dela Cruz reflects on time with Ateneo". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  3. ^ Flores, Celest R. (November 16, 2013). "Dela Cruz shines in MVP-worthy performance before proud dad". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  4. ^ Sacamos, Karlo (October 29, 2015). "Art dela Cruz insists he played best for San Beda: 'I didn't do anything na nag-benta o nag-relax'". Spin.ph. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  5. ^ "Moala Tautuaa goes first overall in 2015 PBA Draft". Rappler. August 23, 2015. Retrieved August 23, 2015.
  6. ^ Joble, Rey (October 30, 2015). "San Beda's Art Dela Cruz signs two-year deal with PBA club Blackwater". InterAksyon. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  7. ^ "Ginebra trades Chris Ellis to Blackwater for Art dela Cruz". Spin.ph.
  8. ^ "NorthPort sends Sidney Onwubere to Ginebra for Art dela Cruz Jr". www.pba.ph.
  9. ^ Ramos, Gerry (June 23, 2023). "Art Dela Cruz an unrestricted free agent after parting ways with NorthPort". Spin.ph. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  10. ^ [1] Real GM
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