Miami coach returns to Pinoy roots

MANILA, Philippines - Miami’s Fil-Am coach Erik Celino Spoelstra will visit Manila in August to promote the NBA Fit program, a comprehensive health and wellness platform where he is an active endorser.

It will be the second straight year that Spoelstra is coming to town. Last July, he flew in under the auspices of the Sports Envoy Program of the US Department of State to promote goodwill through basketball. Spoelstra, who conducted clinics in Zamboanga City and Manila, was warmly received by fans in his first visit to the country in 35 years.

Spoelstra’s mother Elisa Caridad Celino is from San Pablo, Laguna, and a UP Diliman journalism graduate who taught at the Mindanao State University in Marawi City before migrating to the US in 1966. His father Jon is of Dutch-Irish descent and used to work in the front office of the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets and New Jersey Nets.

NBA Fit falls under the NBA Cares umbrella. It was envisioned to encourage healthy and active lifestyles for children and adults through products, events and programs. NBA Fit’s goal is to engage one million kids, adults and families to commit to the program this season. Among the popular activities are workouts in the beginners, intermediate and advanced levels for adults, youth and families and nutrition counselling for obesity and heart health. There is also a basketball component where the accent is youth participation in organized competitions.

The NBA assembled a Fit team to attend grassroots fitness events, promote valuable fitness information and make good healthy lifestyle choices. Spoelstra is the only NBA coach in the elite corps of ambassadors and positive role models for kids and parents. Active NBA players in the group are Chicago’s Derrick Rose, Portland’s Brandon Roy, Detroit’s Richard Hamilton, Phoenix’ Grant Hill, New York’s David Lee and New Jersey’s Devin Harris. The WNBA is represented by Tamika Catchings, Katie Smith and Cappie Pondexter. Others in the lineup are retired cagers Dominique Wilkins, Bruce Bowen, Jerome Williams and Jennifer Azzi. New York Knicks athletic trainer Roger Hinds completes the cast.

Spoelstra, 39, made NBA history when he registered the biggest one-season turnaround by a rookie coach in 2008-09. Miami won only 15 games as the league’s cellar dweller the previous season. Spoelstra took over the coaching reins from Pat Riley and promptly piloted the Heat to a 43-39 record – an improvement of 28 wins. He led Miami to the playoffs as the Heat became only the second team ever to qualify after a campaign of no more than 15 wins.

This season, Spoelstra improved Miami’s record even further to 47-35 but the Heat failed to survive Boston in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Last season, Miami similarly fell victim in the opening round, bowing to Atlanta in a 4-3 series. But against the Celtics, Miami could only win one game and lost, 4-1.

What broke the Heat’s back in the Boston series was the Celtics’ 100-98 squeaker at Miami. The win opened a 3-0 lead for Boston. Miami came back to take Game 4, 101-92, but was bundled out in Game 5, 96-86, at Boston. Spoelstra took the flak for the Game 3 setback as Paul Pierce drained a 21-foot jumper at the buzzer to seal it even as the Heat had a foul to give. He didn’t order Dorell Wright to foul Pierce and the gamble proved costly.