| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1978-08-24)August 24, 1978 (age 46) West Covina, California, U.S. |
| Nationality | Filipino / American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Listed weight | 209 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Carson (Carson, California) |
| College | UC Irvine (1996–1998) |
| PBA draft | 1999: Direct Hire |
| Selected by theShell Velocity | |
| Playing career | 1999–2017 |
| Position | Small forward /power forward |
| Coaching career | 2017–2021 |
| Career history | |
| As player: | |
| 1999–2005 | Shell Velocity / Shell Turbo Chargers |
| 2005–2017 | Alaska Aces |
| As coach: | |
| 2017–2021 | Alaska Aces (Assistant) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
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 theAlaska Aces of thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA), where he also served as an assistant coach after his playing career. He is also a former member of theRP National Basketball Team.
Born inWest 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 theShell Turbo Chargers and was dealt to the Aces prior to Shell's exit from the PBA before the start of the2005–2006 season. Following the retirement of former player and nowBlackwater Bossing head coachJeffrey Cariaso in 2010, dela Cruz was named Alaska's team captain.
Dela Cruz was born inWest Covina, California, as the middle child of the family with an older sister and a younger sister.[1] His Filipino father was an accountant while his American mother is a former bank analyst.[1][2][3] He grew up inCarson, and learned basketball atCarson High, then played two years atUC Irvine. In his final season with theUC Irvine Anteaters, he didn't score a point and was only able to attempt one field goal.[4]
Dela Cruz joined the1999 PBA Draft.[5] On December 30, 1999, he was chosen as theShell Turbo Chargers' Fil-Am direct hire.[6] He signed a three-year deal with the team.[4] In a2001 Governors' Cup game against thePop Cola Panthers, he scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter and made a clutch steal offJohnny Abarrientos to seal the win.[7]
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 the2003 All-Filipino Cup, he scored a career-high 32 points in a loss to theBatang Red Bull Thunder.[8] Although they didn't make the playoffs for the conference, he was given a two-year contract worth at least 6.5 million.[9][10] In 2004, Dela Cruz scored a season-high 28 points in a win over Red Bull.[11] He also added seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals to his totals in that win.[12] He also got to play in his first All-Star game as a replacement forJeffrey Cariaso.[13]
In the2004–05 Philippine Cup, Dela Cruz scored 24 points in a win over theSta. Lucia Realtors.[14] That was their second win of the conference, the team's first winning streak since the2002 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 theTalk 'N Text Phone Pals.[15] At the end of the conference, he was given a three-and-a-half-year contract worth P15 million. During the2005 Fiesta Conference, he, along with 20 other Fil-Ams, were suspended for failure to submit authenticated documents.[16] 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 pressuringBoyet Fernandez and Shell completed the upset.[17] At the end of the season, he was included on theMythical Second Team.[18] He was also in the running for theMost Improved Player Award, but lost toEnrico Villanueva.[18]
On August 3, 2005, Dela Cruz was traded to theAlaska Aces along withRich Alvarez for Rob Duat and Eugene Tejada, as Shell took a leave of absence from the league.[19] Management wanted to trade for him due to his versatility in their system.[3] In a2005–06 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.[20] He then had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in a win over theBarangay Ginebra Kings.[21] In a2006–07 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.[22] For the2005–06 season, he was awarded thePBA's Sportsmanship Award.[23]
In a2006–07 Philippine Cup win over Red Bull, Dela Cruz scored 18 points to lead Alaska.[24] He then scored 20 points in a win over theWelcoat Dragons.[25] Against theCoca-Cola Tigers, he scored 12 points, but missed a floater in overtime and Coca-Cola'sDennis Miranda made the game-winning three-pointer, which also gave Alaska an 8–11 record.[26] For the2007 Fiesta Conference, he wasn't able to compete with the team due to being called up for national team duty.[27] Despite his absence, Alaska was able to win the championship.
Dela Cruz started the2007–08 Philippine Cup with 13 points in a loss to Talk 'N Text.[28] A month later, he scored 16 points in a win over Welcoat.[29] He then scored a season-high 31 points in a loss to Red Bull.[30]
During a2008–09 Philippine Cup win over theSan Miguel Beermen, Dela Cruz scored 15 points.[31] In a win over the Air21 Express, he scored 15 points as they secured the first seed.[32] They reached thefinals in that conference, and in Game 1, he contributed 14 points as Alaska won first.[33] However, they would go on to lose the series in seven games.[34] In the2009 Fiesta Conference, he scored a season-high 20 points in an Alaska win over thePurefoods Tender Juicy Giants.[35] The win was alsoTim Cone's 602nd career win, which made him the all-time winningest coach in PBA history.
In a win over Purefoods, Dela Cruz scored eight of his 12 points in the clutch.[36] In a semifinal game against Ginebra during the2009–10 Philippine Cup, he had a double-double of 16 rebounds and 14 points.[37] From there, they made it to thefinals, they were swept by Purefoods.[38] For the2010 Fiesta Conference, they were motivated to win Alaska its 13th title, as the father of team ownerWilfred Steven Uytengsu Jr. had passed away, and team captainJeffrey Cariaso was set to retire at the end of the season. In the playoffs, they fought off Ginebra in the quarterfinals, 3–2, and Talk ‘N Text in the semis, 4–3, to get back into thefinals.[39] For Game 6, he was diagnosed with sore eyes and couldn't play.[38] Despite his absence, the team was still able to win the title over San Miguel. At the end of the season, he took over the role of team captain.[39]
During the2011–12 Philippine Cup, Dela Cruz had his best scoring game in the last four seasons with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting from the field along with eight rebounds.[40] That season, he suffered aslipped disc injury, which put him out of action until the2012 Governors' Cup.[41]
In a Game 1 win of their2012–13 Philippine Cup quarterfinals against theMeralco Bolts, Dela Cruz contributed 13 points as he stepped up for Abueva, who had been ejected from the game.[42] In the2013 Commissioner's Cup, they beat theSan Mig Coffee Mixers 3–1 in the semis.[43] They went on to sweep Ginebra 3–0 to win Alaska its 14th title.[5] In their2013 Governors' Cup quarterfinals series against the Coffee Mixers, he had more fouls than points, yet Alaska was able to extend the series to a do-or-die game.[44] San Mig eliminated them the following game.[43]
In the2014–15 Philippine Cup, Alaska reached the finals once again.[45] However, they lost to the Beermen in seven games.[46] In a2015 Commissioner's Cup game against Meralco, although Dela Cruz didn't score any points, he contributed five rebounds, two blocks, two assists, and one steal in 23 minutes while also limiting Meralco importAndre Emmett to just 24 points on 7-of-24 shooting.[47]
During the2015–16 Philippine Cup finals, Alaska had a 3–0 lead, yet the Beermen won the next four games to deny Alaska another title.[48] The following conference, the2016 Commissioner's Cup, Dela Cruz contributed eight points in Game 3 of their playoff match against the Tropang TNT to get Alaska into the semis.[49] In that series, he averaged 6.7 points in 18 minutes.[50] From there, Alaska reached thefinals once again, but this time were defeated by theRain or Shine Elasto Painters 4–2.[51]
In a2016–17 Philippine Cup loss to the Beermen, Dela Cruz had 15 points.[52] On July 22, 2017, he became the 80th player to score 5,000 points.[53] At the end of the2016–17 season, he retired.[54] In his final game, a loss to Rain or Shine, he had 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, six rebounds, and one block without a single turnover.[55] He was never called for a technical foul in his entire career.[56] On June 11, 2018, Alaska honored him with a tribute.[23][56]
| 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 |
| Year | Team | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Shell | 16 | 17.2 | .329 | .200 | .833 | 2.9 | .8 | .2 | .3 | 4.0 |
| 2001 | Shell | 37 | 14.5 | .374 | .250 | .611 | 2.5 | .6 | .4 | .1 | 3.4 |
| 2002 | Shell | 32 | 21.3 | .422 | .295 | .684 | 4.0 | 1.0 | .6 | .3 | 6.2 |
| 2003 | Shell | 35 | 34.3 | .443 | .417 | .716 | 6.7 | 2.1 | 1.3 | .3 | 14.5 |
| 2004–05 | Shell | 71 | 36.7 | .422 | .295 | .734 | 6.1 | 2.6 | .9 | .5 | 16.0 |
| 2005–06 | Alaska | 49 | 29.5 | .394 | .167 | .760 | 4.6 | 1.5 | .8 | .3 | 10.1 |
| 2006–07 | Alaska | 21 | 34.0 | .444 | .111 | .667 | 7.7 | 2.1 | .7 | .5 | 11.8 |
| 2007–08 | Alaska | 47 | 24.5 | .407 | .363 | .796 | 4.3 | .8 | .9 | .4 | 8.2 |
| 2008–09 | Alaska | 42 | 29.1 | .432 | .403 | .729 | 5.6 | 1.7 | .8 | .5 | 8.7 |
| 2009–10 | Alaska | 61 | 29.1 | .440 | .296 | .778 | 5.1 | 1.7 | .8 | .4 | 8.2 |
| 2010–11 | Alaska | 41 | 27.0 | .427 | .286 | .891 | 4.7 | 1.5 | 1.0 | .6 | 7.8 |
| 2011–12 | Alaska | 19 | 27.9 | .397 | .222 | .727 | 4.7 | 1.3 | .6 | .4 | 6.6 |
| 2012–13 | Alaska | 54 | 18.9 | .377 | .231 | .894 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .7 | .4 | 3.4 |
| 2013–14 | Alaska | 42 | 14.4 | .345 | .250 | .500 | 2.7 | .6 | .4 | .1 | 1.6 |
| 2014–15 | Alaska | 52 | 13.0 | .379 | .125 | .375 | 2.1 | .7 | .3 | .1 | 1.6 |
| 2015–16 | Alaska | 43 | 9.9 | .413 | .316 | .833 | 2.1 | .5 | .4 | .1 | 2.4 |
| Career | 662 | 24.1 | .416 | .308 | .743 | 4.3 | 1.3 | .7 | .3 | 7.4 | |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996–97 | UC Irvine | 26 | 0 | 12.1 | .286 | .429 | .143 | 1.2 | .4 | .2 | .1 | .8 |
| 1997–98 | 8 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | ||
| Career | 34 | 0 | 12.1 | .286 | .000 | .578 | 1.1 | .3 | .2 | .1 | .8 | |
In 2004, Dela Cruz made his debut for thePhilippine men's national team in the Global Hoops Summit.[3] He also played for the team in that year'sJones Cup.
In 2007, Dela Cruz suffered an ankle injury during the team's campaign in the2007 FIBA Asia Champions Cup.[59] Due to the injury, he wasn't able to compete in theSoutheast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) men's championship. He was one of the final cuts for the2007 FIBA Asia Championship, but was a reserve for that team.[60][61]
In 2012, while recuperating from an injury, Dela Cruz became an assistant coach under Luigi Trillo for theCebuana Lhuillier Gems.[41] Soon after retiring from playing, he, along withEric Altamirano,Danny Ildefonso, andSean Chambers, joined Alaska's coaching staff underAlex Compton.[62][63] He left the coaching staff in 2021 to return to the US.[64]
Aside from coaching with Alaska, Dela Cruz also coached high school boys and girls. In 2016, he was one of the assistant coaches for the SLAM Rising Stars Classic, a tournament of the 24 best high school prospects in the country.[65] The following year, he became the head coach.[66] He also coached young boys and girls through the Jr. NBA program.[67][68][69]
In 2019, Dela Cruz became an analyst forPBA Rush.[5] He was also one of the analysts forTV5's coverage ofSEA Games basketball.[70] He also speaks in motivational seminars as a life coach.[71][1]
Dela Cruz was married to Julie Primero.[3] They have three children, Maya, Marley and Mary Jane. In 2016, Primero filed a divorce lawsuit against him.[72] He is now married to Isabella 'Belay' Fernando, who is currently the team administrator of thePhilippines women's national football team.[64][73]
Dela Cruz is open about his mental health struggles, as he suffers from stress and depression, which he has talked about in motivational seminars.[71] He used to self-medicate, and often drank alcohol.[5] He would also entertain suicidal thoughts, and nearly ended his life in 2013. After that attempt, he opened up about his struggles and began seeing a psychiatrist.
