Sta Cruz Forced to Sit Out Warriors First Win

One of the toughest Warriors from Indonesia, Harold Nilo Santa Cruz was sat on the bench for the Indonesia Warriors’ first away game against the Singapore Slingers. Santa Cruz was about to sub in for Amin Prihantono at the beginning of the second quarter, when officials stopped the game stating that Santa Cruz was not eligible to play.That’s when the drama began.

It turned out the problem was that Santa Cruz’s number on the game’s roster didn’t match his jersey number and officials had to make the call to disallow Santa Cruz to play for the remainder of the game. Santa Cruz was wearing number 12 whereas the list submitted by the Warriors' official states Santa Cruz was supposed to be wearing number 13. The call greatly upset the Warriors, as Indonesia  had been burning the court thus far with a 20 point lead over the Slingers. 

“I have always been using this number, since the first time I got to the team! This is unbelievable” Cruz yelled. But the call had been made and nothing could be done.

Despite the bitter disappointment of being made to sit out of his first game for the Warriors, Santa Cruz used his big voice to empower his team to play even harder and smarter. He might have been on the bench throughout the whole game, but that didn’t stop him cheering for his team mates, sweatin’ on the court after they won the game.

I must say, the game winning possession of Indonesia Warriors against Singapore Slingers was partly motivated and contributed by Harold Nilo Santa Cruz.  A man with a big heart, big voice, and one of the true warriors of the game.

The Indonesia Warriors next game will be their first home game at The Mahaka Square on the 21st of January 2012 and I’m sure Indonesia will Cruz out to support their team and number 12!

Salute!