Mark Cruz

In this Filipino name, the middle name or maternal family name is Lu and the surname or paternal family name is Cruz.

Mark Cruz
No. 9 – GenSan Warriors
PositionPoint guard
LeagueMPBL / PSL
Personal information
Born (1992-07-27) July 27, 1992
Quezon City, Philippines
NationalityFilipino
Listed height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Listed weight150 lb (68 kg)
Career information
High schoolLetran (Manila)
CollegeLetran
PBA draft2015: 3rd round, 30th overall pick
Drafted byStar Hotshots
Career history
2015–2016Star Hotshots
2016Phoenix Fuel Masters
2017–2018Blackwater Elite
2019–2020Pampanga Giant Lanterns
2021Bicol Volcanoes
2022–presentGenSan / South Cotabato Warriors
Career highlights

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 (MPBL) and Pilipinas Super League (PSL). He earned the moniker Ant Man during his days in the NCAA.[1]

College career

Cruz studied at the Colegio de San Juan de Letran and played for the Letran Knights varsity squad. Teaming up with Kevin Alas and Raymond Almazan, and later Kevin Racal and Rey Nambatac, he propelled the Knights to the finals in 2012 and 2013, only to lose to the San Beda Red Lions on both occasions.[2][3][4] After missing the Final Four the year before, he flourished under new coach Aldin Ayo, leading the Knights in his final collegiate year.[5] In 2015, he led the Knights to an NCAA Championship against their nemesis San Beda, ending a 10-year title drought. He was awarded the Finals MVP.[6]

Professional career

Star Hotshots (2015–2016)

Cruz was drafted 30th overall in the 2015 PBA draft by the Star Hotshots.[7] Unlike his fellow rookies, he signed a one-conference contract with the Hotshots. In his PBA debut he tallied seven points, two rebounds and a steal in a loss to the San Miguel Beermen.[8] During the 2016 Commissioner's Cup, he helped Star qualify for the quarterfinals by scoring 15 of his 18 points in a win over the Mahindra Enforcers.[9] This would be his last game with the team.[10]

Phoenix Fuel Masters (2016)

In May 2016, Cruz was traded by Star to the Phoenix Fuel Masters in a three-team trade that also involved GlobalPort Batang Pier.[11][10] Before the start of the 2016–17 season, he was released from the team.[12]

Blackwater Elite (2017–2018)

Cruz then spent three months in the PBA D-League for the Tanduay Rhum Masters.[13] He averaged 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists and led them to the semis of the 2017 D-League Aspirants' Cup. Right after, he was signed by the Blackwater Elite.[13][14] In 2018, Blackwater lent him and James Sena to the iECO Green Warriors for the Terrific 12.[15]

Pampanga Giant Lanterns (2019–2020)

After two years with Blackwater, Cruz was left unsigned by the team. This led him to sign with the Pampanga Giant Lanterns of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.[16] He made his MPBL debut with a triple double of 16 points, 11 rebounds, and 12 assists in a win over the GenSan Warriors.[17] He then had 14 points and 10 assists in a win over the Bulacan Kuyas.[18] In a win over the Biñan Laguna Krah Heroes, he had a season-high 31 points.[19] That season, they were able to secure the fourth seed.[20] They were swept in the divisional semifinals by the San Juan Knights.[21]

Bicol Volcanoes (2021)

On November 28, 2021, Cruz joined the Bicol Volcanoes for the 2021 MPBL Invitational tournament, reuniting with his college coach Aldin Ayo and college teammate McJour Luib.[22]

GenSan / South Cotabato Warriors (2022–present)

In 2022, Cruz joined the GenSan Warriors. He contributed in their playoff run, in which they made the division quarterfinals.[23] For the 2023 and 2024 seasons, they made it to the South division semifinals.[24][25]

During the 2025 season, Cruz scored a career-high 32 points in a loss to Pampanga.[26] In a 54-point blowout win over the Manila Batang Quiapo, he made nine three pointers for 27 points.[27] He also won the three-point shootout during the 2025 MPBL All-Star Game.[28] Once again, they lost in the South Division semifinals, this time to the Quezon Huskers.[29]

PBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played  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 2017–18 season[30]

Season-by-season averages

Year Team GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 Star 25 12.3 .394 .353 .650 1.0 1.4 .5 .0 4.2
Phoenix
2016–17 Blackwater 19 18.8 .381 .209 .650 2.1 2.4 .6 .1 5.1
2017–18 Blackwater 18 7.9 .170 .095 .667 .7 .7 .3 .0 1.1
Career 62 13.0 .346 .252 .651 1.3 1.5 .5 .0 3.6

Personal life

Cruz is the younger brother of former UP Fighting Maroons star and PBA player Marvin Cruz.[31] His first daughter was born when he was 17 years old.[31] His favorite player growing up was Jimmy Alapag.[1] He took up a degree in Operations Management and hopes to start a business someday.[32]

References

  1. ^ a b Naredo, Camille (July 23, 2015). "'Ant-Man' Cruz thrilled to inspire undersized players". ABS-CBN News. Archived from the original on January 13, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  2. ^ Riego, Norman Lee Benjamin. "Letran bests San Beda for first title since 2005". ABS-CBN Sports. Archived from the original on October 31, 2015. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  3. ^ Domingo, Mia Rengie Angela Domingo. "Small but terrible Mark Cruz stands tall, brings home the 'suka' for the Letran Knights". InterAKTV. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  4. ^ "NCAA Season 89 Finals Game 3: San Beda vs Letran". Philstar.com. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  5. ^ Bracher, Jane (July 2, 2015). "Mark Cruz ready to lead Letran Knights in his final year". Rappler. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  6. ^ Leongson, Randolph (October 29, 2015). "Smallest man stands tallest as Mark Cruz named Finals MVP". Inquirer.net. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  7. ^ "Full Results: 2015 PBA Rookie Draft". GMANetwork.com. August 23, 2015. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
  8. ^ Sacamos, Karlo. "Mark Cruz thankful for one-conference Star deal, draws confidence from mentor Abarrientos". SPIN.ph. Retrieved November 5, 2015.
  9. ^ Bustamante, Polo (April 14, 2016). "Size doesn't matter for Star as Mark Cruz leads the way to a quarterfinals seat - SLAMonline Philippines". SLAMonline Philippines. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  10. ^ a b Sacamos, Karlo (June 17, 2016). "Mark Cruz strives to earn his minutes as he savors new beginning at Phoenix". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  11. ^ "Star lands RR Garcia in 8-player trade with GlobalPort, Phoenix". InterAksyon. May 11, 2016. Archived from the original on June 24, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  12. ^ Ramos, Gerry (November 4, 2016). "Mark Cruz, Josh Urbiztondo now free agents after being released by Phoenix". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  13. ^ a b Bacnis, Justine (April 1, 2017). "Still a long way to go for returning Mark Cruz". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  14. ^ Bacnis, Justine (March 29, 2017). "Mark Cruz back in the pros, signs with Blackwater". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  15. ^ Li, Matthew (June 27, 2018). "Blackwater to join Summer Super 8 tourney". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  16. ^ Terrado, Reuben (February 2, 2019). "Mark Cruz to play for Pampanga Lanterns in MPBL next season". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  17. ^ Terrado, Reuben (June 13, 2019). "Mark Cruz marks MPBL debut with triple double as Pampanga sinks GenSan". Spin.ph. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  18. ^ Li, Matthew (July 7, 2019). "Cruz, Cervantes lift Pampanga past Bulacan as Quezon City deals Iloilo first MPBL loss". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  19. ^ Times, Tiebreaker (July 26, 2019). "Robbie Manalang continues to sizzle as Pasig romps Bacolod". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  20. ^ Times, Tiebreaker (February 5, 2020). "Mark Cruz guides Pampanga past Pasig, top four in MPBL North". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  21. ^ "MPBL: San Juan advances to North Division finals". Panay News. March 6, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  22. ^ Dannug, Jonash (November 28, 2021). "Mark Cruz reunites with Aldin Ayo in Bicol". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  23. ^ Times, Tiebreaker (October 25, 2022). "MPBL: GenSan forces decider; Marcelino steers Zamboanga FBS to semis". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  24. ^ Times, Tiebreaker (November 8, 2023). "MPBL: Levi Hernandez, Cedrick Ablaza lift Batangas to South Finals". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  25. ^ Times, Tiebreaker (November 8, 2024). "Batangas Tanduay tames South Cotabato, sets up MPBL South Finals clash vs Quezon". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  26. ^ Sports, Manila Bulletin (March 22, 2025). "Caballero halfcourt buzzer-beater lifts Rizal past Batangas; Pampanga wins". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  27. ^ "MPBL: Behind Mark Cruz, GenSan pummels Manila by 54". Spin.ph. June 16, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  28. ^ "South nips North in MPBL All-Star; Jackson new slam dunk king, Cruz tops 3-point shootout". Journal News Online. September 8, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  29. ^ "Quezon ousts Gensan, enters MPBL South finals". Philstar.com. November 12, 2025. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  30. ^ "Mark Cruz Player Profile, Blackwater Bossings - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved January 29, 2026.
  31. ^ a b Baybado, Daryl Angelo (August 16, 2014). "Fearless Knight". lifestyle.inquirer.net. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  32. ^ Olivares, Matthew. "Mark Cruz: In the land of the giants". Philippine Star. Retrieved October 30, 2015.
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