Tony Dela Cruz

Alaska is a team like no other in the Philippine Basketball Association. The team is always better than the sum of its parts. You wouldn’t think it’s that strong a team from looking at the lineup. But Alaska keeps winning PBA titles year-in and year-out.

That is because the Aces don’t just have stars, they also have role players and unsung heroes who do all the other things needed to win. And foremost among Alaska’s present unsung heroes is versatile Fil-Am Tony Dela Cruz.

“Tony plays with so much energy,” says Alaska coach Tim Cone. “He always gets to a lot of balls defensively. He has very active hands and deflects a lot passes. He knows how to sneak in for rebounds. He doesn’t rely on his shots to fall to play his game. If he shoots well then that’s just gravy. I always say that when his shots are falling then we’re very tough to beat.”

In Alaska’s 106-87 Game 6 semifinal victory against the Sta. Lucia Realtors Dela Cruz’ shots were indeed falling. He tallied 20 points from two-of-three three-point attempts and six-of-nine shooting from two-point range.

Dela Cruz’ accurate outside sniping helped spread the floor allowing Sonny Thoss, John Ferriols and Reynel Hugnatan to abuse their defenders one-on-one and score points inside the paint with impunity.

Dela Cruz also makes other contributions on the offensive end. He can start a fastbreak faster because once he has the ball he doesn’t need to find a teammate downcourt for a long pass or find a point guard to initiate the fastbreak offense. He can start the fastbreak by dribbling downcourt himself. He’s also a smart passer who can help break down the Realtors’ defensive formations.

In Game 6 of the semifinal Dela Cruz hounded Sta. Lucia franchise player Kelly Williams who unloaded 20 points for the game but who was limited to only two points in the fourth period when the Realtors needed his scoring the most.

“Coach Tim has always stood by me,” said an emotional Dela Cruz, whose voice almost cracked several times, during the post-game interview after the Aces beat the Realtors in Game 6.

“He (Coach Tim Cone) knows what I can do,” said Dela Cruz. “Defense is my first priority. I guard my man, grab rebounds and get to a lot of loose balls. If I score a lot of points too, then that’s great. But scoring is not my only contribution to the team.”

Dela Cruz started as a defensive stopper with the Shell Turbo Chargers. But he worked hard enough over the years to develop a well-rounded game. By the time the Turbo Chargers disbanded two years ago he had also become the team’s go-to guy on offense.

When he joined the Aces he was willing to do whatever the team asked of him. Dela Cruz reverted to his role as defensive stopper and became one of the Aces’ most versatile defenders.

Dela Cruz can defend against any player in his natural position at the wing. But he is also quick enough and savvy enough to defend even against the guards such as Sta. Lucia’s Denok Miranda, Ryan Reyes and Paolo Mendoza.

In emergencies Dela Cruz can even be called on to guard the bigs. Sta. Lucia’s six-foot-nine behemoth Marlou Aquino and six-foot-six elbowing machine Dennis Espino may be overwhelming unless double-teamed but Dela Cruz can contain any other Sta. Lucia big including Norman Gonzales, Philip Butel, Melvin Mamaclay and Dennis Daa even one-on-one.

Meet one player whose contributions do not always appear on the statistics sheets. Meet Tony Dela Cruz, the Alaska Aces’ unsung hero and Player of the Month.