First, he made his overseas debut on the Philippine basketball team at the Global Hoops Summit in Las Vegas. De la Cruz averaged 10.4 points and a team-high 24.4 minutes in five games in five days from July 16 to 20. He was the squad’s third leading scorer behind Dondon Hontiveros and Ren-Ren Ritualo.
Then, de la Cruz wore the national colors again as he played in nine games in nine days at the Jones Cup in Taipei from July 23 to 31. He hit at a 9.1 clip and was the team’s fifth-leading scorer behind Asi Taulava, Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Hontiveros and Romel Adducul.
In all, de la Cruz saw action in 14 games in 16 straight games crossing the international dateline.
While in Taipei, de la Cruz’ wife Julie gave birth to their second child, a bouncing 7-pound, 6-ounce baby girl Mary Jane. Their first child, Marley, is now two years old.
When de la Cruz left for Las Vegas, Julie was already in the hospital ready to deliver. Like de la Cruz, Julie Primero was born and raised in Los Angeles. De la Cruz is half-American, half-Filipino while Julie is a full-blooded Filipina. Julie’s mother, a nurse, flew in from Los Angeles to be with her during the delivery. De la Cruz’ mother, a retired bank analyst, will take her turn to babysit when Julie’s mother returns to work in Los Angeles.
De la Cruz checked in on his wife during the six-hour layover in Manila from Las Vegas en route to Taipei last July 23. She hadn’t given birth yet.
Julie delivered at 4:30 p.m. two days later.
"We had a game (against Kazakhstan) that day (at 6 p.m.) so after, I went right to my phone," recalled de la Cruz. "And we won that game so it was just as nice."
The Philippines beat Kazakhstan, 79-75, with de la Cruz scoring seven points. It was his lucky "seven" day. His baby girl was born weighing seven pounds (and six ounces) on the 25th–if you add two and five, you get seven.
De la Cruz wasn’t able to see his wife and newlyborn daughter until he arrived from Taipei last Monday.
The day after his return home, de la Cruz learned he was traded by Shell to Alaska with Rich Alvarez.
News of Shell’s leave of absence circulated during the Las Vegas tournament but de la Cruz and Turbo Charger teammates Alvarez and Billy Mamaril kept their focus. They didn’t let the uncertainty of the future affect their play. In the end, they were all rewarded as de la Cruz and Alvarez found a new home in Alaska and Mamaril went to Coca-Cola.
Alaska team manager Joaqui Trillo said Aces coach Tim Cone had long coveted de la Cruz. "He’s a perfect fit in our system," noted Trillo. So when de la Cruz celebrates his 27th birthday on Aug. 24, he’s got a lot to be thankful for to the Lord.
There probably isn’t a nicer guy in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). De la Cruz is always accommodating to media and friendly to fans. On the court, he’s all business. And off the court, he enjoys a wholesome reputation as a family man. It’s no wonder de la Cruz was picked to receive the PBA’s first and only "First Gentleman of the Year" award last year.
No less than PBA commissioner Noli Eala, who watched the Jones Cup games at courtside, paid tribute to de la Cruz for his outstanding performance.
"Tony is our most consistent player," said Eala. "What makes him an asset to the team is he accepts any role he’s given. He just does it and works as hard as he can. He can play point guard, power forward or the wings and he’ll always give his best effort."
Eala commended other players on the squad that placed third in Taipei.
"Asi (Taulava) was dominant," he continued. "We had lots of time to be together and we got along. No, we didn’t discuss the case he filed against me. Romel (Adducul) was also a big factor. He couldn’t be moved under the boards and fought off much bigger guys for rebounds. Then there was Denok Miranda who was all heart. He defended Terrance Johnson of Passing Lane and was in his face. Dinikitan ni Denok si Johnson and took away his dribble. Jondan Salvador was also a revelation against Passing Lane. He was the only one who didn’t play against Chinese-Taipei but made up for it by scoring eight points against the US. And Jay-Jay Helterbrand should’ve been named to the mythical first team at point guard."
Eala said more than the individual players, what impressed the Jones Cup audience was the Philippine team’s clean and hard game.
"They probably remember past Philippine teams that got involved in brawls," said Eala.
As for De la Cruz’ reaction to his trade to Alaska, it was brief and meaningful: "I’m excited to get started."
Postscript: Boxing manager Tony Aldeguer said bantamweight prospect Rey (Boom Boom) Bautista and trainer Edito Villamor left for Los Angeles via Philippine Airlines last night. Bautista will train at the Wild Card Gym. Aldeguer’s US partner Michael Koncz is negotiating with Top Rank’s Bob Arum for Bautista to fight in the undercard of the Sept. 10 program featuring Manny Pacquiao and Erik Morales against separate opponents at the Staples Center. On yesterday’s column, Aldeguer sent this text: "Thank you for your encouraging and objective write-up on Z Gorres. We promise to work on Gorres’ shortcomings"…Former PBA commissioner Jun Bernardino’s brother Manuel passed away yesterday morning. His remains lie in state at the Arlington Memorial East Chapel at Raymundo St., Pasig. Our deepest condolences to the Bernardino family.