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Tony dela Cruz
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Tony dela Cruz
Anthony Bryan Davis dela Cruz (born August 24, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player and coach. He played majority of his career for the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), where he also served as an assistant coach after his playing career. He is also a former member of the RP National Basketball Team.
Born in West Covina, California, Dela Cruz had a stint in the US NCAA and was named as Shell's direct hire recruit in 1999. He became a legitimate PBA All-Star player with the Shell Turbo Chargers and was dealt to the Aces prior to Shell's exit from the PBA before the start of the 2005–2006 season. Following the retirement of former player and now Blackwater Bossing head coach Jeffrey Cariaso in 2010, dela Cruz was named Alaska's team captain.
Dela Cruz was born in West Covina, California, as the middle child with an older sister and a younger sister. His Filipino father was an accountant while his American mother is a former bank analyst. He grew up in Carson, learned basketball at Carson High and then played two years at UC Irvine. In his final season with the UC Irvine Anteaters, he didn't score a point and was only able to attempt one field goal.
Dela Cruz joined the 1999 PBA Draft. On December 30, 1999, he was chosen as the Shell Turbo Chargers' Fil-Am direct hire. He signed a three-year deal with the team. In a 2001 Governors' Cup game against the Pop Cola Panthers, he scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter and made a clutch steal off Johnny Abarrientos to seal the win.
Dela Cruz gradually increased his scoring in his early seasons, from 6.2 points in 2002, to 14.5 points per game in 2003. During the 2003 All-Filipino Cup, he scored a career-high 32 points in a loss to the Batang Red Bull Thunder. Although they didn't make the playoffs for the conference, he was given a two-year contract worth at least 6.5 million. In 2004, Dela Cruz scored a season-high 28 points in a win over Red Bull. He also added seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals to his totals in that win. He also got to play in his first All-Star game as a replacement for Jeffrey Cariaso.
In the 2004–05 Philippine Cup, Dela Cruz scored 24 points in a win over the Sta. Lucia Realtors. That was their second win of the conference, the team's first winning streak since the 2002 Governors' Cup and it also gave them a 2–1 start to the conference. In that conference, he averaged 18.5 points, won four Player of the Week awards and nearly led Shell to the finals before they were swept by the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals. At the end of the conference, he was given a three-and-a-half-year contract worth P15 million. During the 2005 Fiesta Conference, he, along with 20 other Fil-Ams, were suspended for failure to submit authenticated documents. He was able to return to the team during the playoffs, with his team in the ninth seed. In Game 2 of their wildcard series against fourth seed Sta Lucia, he missed two free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining, but made up for it on defense by pressuring Boyet Fernandez and Shell completed the upset. At the end of the season, he was included on the Mythical Second Team. He was also in the running for the Most Improved Player Award, but lost to Enrico Villanueva.
On August 3, 2005, Dela Cruz was traded to the Alaska Aces along with Rich Alvarez for Rob Duat and Eugene Tejada, as Shell took a leave of absence from the league. Management wanted to trade for him due to his versatility in their system. In a 2005–06 Fiesta Conference game against Red Bull, he made a game-tying three pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining, but then Red Bull import Quemont Greer split his free throws, and that was enough for Alaska to lose the game. He then had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in a win over the Barangay Ginebra Kings. In a 2006–07 Philippine Cup win over Ginebra, he made clutch free throws that sealed Alaska into fourth place in the standings with a record of 9–7. For the 2005–06 season, he was awarded the PBA's Sportsmanship Award.
In a 2006–07 Philippine Cup win over Red Bull, Dela Cruz scored 18 points to lead Alaska. He then scored 20 points in a win over the Welcoat Dragons. Against the Coca-Cola Tigers, he scored 12 points, but missed a floater in overtime and Coca-Cola's Dennis Miranda made the game-winning three-pointer, which also gave Alaska an 8–11 record. For the 2007 Fiesta Conference, he wasn't able to compete with the team due to being called up for national team duty. Despite his absence, Alaska was able to win the championship.
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Tony dela Cruz
Anthony Bryan Davis dela Cruz (born August 24, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player and coach. He played majority of his career for the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), where he also served as an assistant coach after his playing career. He is also a former member of the RP National Basketball Team.
Born in West Covina, California, Dela Cruz had a stint in the US NCAA and was named as Shell's direct hire recruit in 1999. He became a legitimate PBA All-Star player with the Shell Turbo Chargers and was dealt to the Aces prior to Shell's exit from the PBA before the start of the 2005–2006 season. Following the retirement of former player and now Blackwater Bossing head coach Jeffrey Cariaso in 2010, dela Cruz was named Alaska's team captain.
Dela Cruz was born in West Covina, California, as the middle child with an older sister and a younger sister. His Filipino father was an accountant while his American mother is a former bank analyst. He grew up in Carson, learned basketball at Carson High and then played two years at UC Irvine. In his final season with the UC Irvine Anteaters, he didn't score a point and was only able to attempt one field goal.
Dela Cruz joined the 1999 PBA Draft. On December 30, 1999, he was chosen as the Shell Turbo Chargers' Fil-Am direct hire. He signed a three-year deal with the team. In a 2001 Governors' Cup game against the Pop Cola Panthers, he scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter and made a clutch steal off Johnny Abarrientos to seal the win.
Dela Cruz gradually increased his scoring in his early seasons, from 6.2 points in 2002, to 14.5 points per game in 2003. During the 2003 All-Filipino Cup, he scored a career-high 32 points in a loss to the Batang Red Bull Thunder. Although they didn't make the playoffs for the conference, he was given a two-year contract worth at least 6.5 million. In 2004, Dela Cruz scored a season-high 28 points in a win over Red Bull. He also added seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals to his totals in that win. He also got to play in his first All-Star game as a replacement for Jeffrey Cariaso.
In the 2004–05 Philippine Cup, Dela Cruz scored 24 points in a win over the Sta. Lucia Realtors. That was their second win of the conference, the team's first winning streak since the 2002 Governors' Cup and it also gave them a 2–1 start to the conference. In that conference, he averaged 18.5 points, won four Player of the Week awards and nearly led Shell to the finals before they were swept by the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals. At the end of the conference, he was given a three-and-a-half-year contract worth P15 million. During the 2005 Fiesta Conference, he, along with 20 other Fil-Ams, were suspended for failure to submit authenticated documents. He was able to return to the team during the playoffs, with his team in the ninth seed. In Game 2 of their wildcard series against fourth seed Sta Lucia, he missed two free throws with 7.5 seconds remaining, but made up for it on defense by pressuring Boyet Fernandez and Shell completed the upset. At the end of the season, he was included on the Mythical Second Team. He was also in the running for the Most Improved Player Award, but lost to Enrico Villanueva.
On August 3, 2005, Dela Cruz was traded to the Alaska Aces along with Rich Alvarez for Rob Duat and Eugene Tejada, as Shell took a leave of absence from the league. Management wanted to trade for him due to his versatility in their system. In a 2005–06 Fiesta Conference game against Red Bull, he made a game-tying three pointer with 4.2 seconds remaining, but then Red Bull import Quemont Greer split his free throws, and that was enough for Alaska to lose the game. He then had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in a win over the Barangay Ginebra Kings. In a 2006–07 Philippine Cup win over Ginebra, he made clutch free throws that sealed Alaska into fourth place in the standings with a record of 9–7. For the 2005–06 season, he was awarded the PBA's Sportsmanship Award.
In a 2006–07 Philippine Cup win over Red Bull, Dela Cruz scored 18 points to lead Alaska. He then scored 20 points in a win over the Welcoat Dragons. Against the Coca-Cola Tigers, he scored 12 points, but missed a floater in overtime and Coca-Cola's Dennis Miranda made the game-winning three-pointer, which also gave Alaska an 8–11 record. For the 2007 Fiesta Conference, he wasn't able to compete with the team due to being called up for national team duty. Despite his absence, Alaska was able to win the championship.