Crusaders’ dela Cruz flying high

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This article was published 17/03/2022 (1293 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Lorence dela Cruz didn’t just dream about dunking a basketball in Grade 10.

He did something about it.

The diminutive St. Paul’s point guard donned his trademark goggles and put in extra work before achieving that goal two years ago. He has continued to improve and add layers to his game since.

As the Grade 12 student athete prepared to lead the No. 2-ranked Crusaders into Thursday’s semifinals at the Dairy Farmers of Manitoba Provincial AAAA High School Championships, he was voted No. 1 in the Free Press coaches poll honouring the province’s top high school varsity boys players.

“The past two years I’ve been working on my speed and my agility,” said dela Cruz earlier this week. “Explosiveness was a big one because I wanted to be one of the fastest guards in this province. So I tried my very best and worked very hard on it.”

The changes in his game are subtle but crucial.

He’s grown one inch to 5-8 and beefed up to 160 pounds since Grade 10 and his vertical leap has improved from 39 to an astonishing 42 inches.

While he’s a phenomenal leaper (he’s dunked once during a game this season), he’s also become an excellent passer in traffic and an underappreciated shooter.

Despite his stature, he’s a hot prospect for U Sports ranks. With both the universities of Winnipeg and Manitoba interested in his services, he’s yet to make a commitment.

He could also explore the option of playing college basketball in Philippines, his parents’ home country.

“I’m faster and bigger so I think my game went from where two years ago I was shooting mid-range and passing,” he said. “I’ve got more of an inside aggressive, slasher kind of game now.”

Crusaders coach Jeff Laping said dela Cruz’s attention to detail has served him well.

“He was always a streaky shooter,” said Laping. “He could make shots but he would go through stretches where his form wasn’t 100 per cent and his timing wasn’t perfect. But right now his form is just really, really good. He’s really the most consistent shooter we have on our team right now, to be honest.

“To me, that has been the biggest improvement in this game because he’s always been fast and explosive, but his ability to make threes has now become a big consistent part of his game. In fact, we’re always trying to encourage him to shoot a bit more.”

If he has a flaw, it may be that dela Cruz is too unselfish. With the finishing power of star forward Ramogi Nyagudi (No. 3 in the top 10) on his flank, the inclination to dish the ball off is strong.

“We found we had to encourage him to be dominant because he had a tendency to want to defer to some of the other guys,” said Laping.

The powerhouse Crusaders, with only one loss heading into the provincial semis, have posted a number of blowout wins and dela Cruz has used team workouts to raise the level of competition.

“We say that we get better in practice and everyone competes at a very high level,” he said. “And we just get better through practise and our chemistry just gets stronger and stronger.”

A more finely tuned skill set should help dela Cruz at the next level.

“I think his shooting has come to the point now where he becomes very difficult to guard because if you give him space, like people used to do, he can make those outside shots,” said Laping. “So now, if you’re getting tight on him, he’s able with his dribbling and quickness to get into the lane extremely well.”

As a small player thriving in a big man’s game, dela Cruz was reminded of the guidance he received from Red Ducharme, his coach on the Winnipeg Spirit club team when he was in Grade 2.

”He was my first ever coach and basically all the things I’ve done and all the basic fundamental basketball was through him,” said dela Cruz. “So he’s a big part of my basketball journey.”

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14