Families come together

LAS VEGAS — The family spirit, something that is treasured in the Filipino way of life, is alive and well in the stands of the Cox Pavilion here whenever the Philippine basketball team takes to the court at the five-day Global Hoops Summit.

It’s particularly evident in the case of national cagers Mike Cortez, Tony de la Cruz and Don Allado.

Cortez’ parents are in town to watch their youngest of three children play. Their two other children are here, too, along with more relatives and friends.

Cortez’ father Mike, Sr. flew in from Queens, New York, where he works at the Atria nightclub. He stays half the year in Manila and half the year in Queens.

The Alaska guard’s mother Cymbelin or Cindy Salonga lives here and works as a clinic caretaker.

Cortez’ sister Kristine, 30, and brother Bernard, 26, also live here. Kristine is married to Jeff Odum, vault supervisor at Ceasars Palace. The Odums bring their children Tyson and Haley to watch Cortez play every game. Bernard is a pilot.

Cortez’ high school buddy Tony Franes and Filipina girlfriend Karen Villanueva are regular customers at the games. So is his aunt Linda Bushman.

Of course, Cortez’ wife Joy Refuerzo and their three-year-old son Jacob Zion give him the inspiration to play. They arrived from Manila a few weeks before Cortez.

Cortez, 24, was born in San Jose, California and played at Carson City High School, outside of Los Angeles. His varsity coach Richard Mason came to watch the Philippines’ two games last weekend. Mason also coached de la Cruz and Mac-Mac Cardona.

Cortez said he’s honored and excited to play for the Philippine squad. His goal as a national cager is "to represent the Philippines the best way possible."

De la Cruz, 26, was born in West Covina, Los Angeles. His Filipino father Manny is an accountant and American mother Nellie are here to support him. His sisters Alison, 30, and Marcie, 24, came for the weekend games.

Joining the de la Cruz family to cheer for the Philippine team is Danny Rodriguez and Melody Ugalde who drove in from Los Angeles. Rodriguez is de la Cruz’ best friend from their high school days.

Like Cortez, de la Cruz learned his fundamentals from Mason at Carson High. He went on to play NCAA Division I ball for the University of California at Irvine varsity.

Asked what is his strength, de la Cruz said he’s a team player, willing to do the little things. As for his weakness, he modestly pointed to his lack of physical abilities in jumping and strength.

"I’m excited and honored to be on the national team," said de la Cruz. "I just want to learn and contribute anyway that I can. What do I expect to gain in Las Vegas? Come up on black jack and not lose any money. Also, to bond with my teammates while competing with other teams. My goals as a national player are to become more experienced and gain more confidence in playing against international players."

De la Cruz’ wife Julie Primero is back in Manila, expecting to deliver their second child, a girl, any day now. Julie’s parents flew in from Los Angeles to be with her in his absence. Their first child Marley is two years old.

When de la Cruz returns home Saturday morning, he’ll drive straight to the hospital to check on Julie then go back to the airport to take the noon flight to Taipei where the Philippines will make its Jones Cup debut against Qatar that same night.

Allado’s parents Caloy and Joy are always present and accounted for in all the Philippine team’s games. Their two other boys Brian and Andrew joined the trip from Los Angeles where they live. Allado’s best friend Jason Kusher made the trip with the family.

"He’s another son," said Joy, referring to Jason. "Don and Jason have been friends for years. Don took Jason to Boracay when he visited him last Holy Week. When Jason’s in the Philippines, he’s Jason Allado, not Jason Kusher. They have another close friend, Tommy, but he couldn’t drive with us to Las Vegas."

Allado’s 86-year-old grandmother Demetria and aunt Helen are in the "posse" which came in three cars from Los Angeles. His brother Brian’s girlfriend Marivel Zialcita, a probate lawyer who is Rep. Ed Zialcita’s niece, joined the group.

Both Allado’s parents played college basketball. Caloy saw action for the University of the Philippines and Joy for Maryknoll. Basketball is clearly in Allado’s genes.

Driving in last weekend from Los Angeles was Allado’s uncle Chito Fuentebella and cousin Miggy Mendoza, oldest son of sportsman Freddie and Marl. Miggy is taking up culinary arts in an exclusive Pasadena school.

From Las Vegas, Allado will go to Florida for the intensive International Management Group basketball camp with coach Tim Cone, Cortez and Sonny Thoss before flying home. Their trip to Florida is sponsored by Alaska.

"It’s a tough camp," said Allado. "In the morning, you do drills. In the afternoon, you lift weights. And at night, you play games. There will be Division I players and NBA free agents there. If the camp supervisor sees you’re not putting in the effort to work hard, they’ll yank you out and give your money back. Asi (Taulava) and Mark (Telan) went to the camp last year.