Anthony Bryan Davis dela Cruz (born August 24, 1978) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player and coach.
Born in West Covina, California, Dela Cruz had a stint in the US NCAA and was named as Shell's direct hire recruit in 1999.
Following the retirement of former player and now Blackwater Bossing head coach Jeffrey Cariaso in 2010, dela Cruz was named Alaska's team captain.
In his final season with the UC Irvine Anteaters, he didn't score a point and was only able to attempt one field goal.
[4] In a 2001 Governors' Cup game against the Pop Cola Panthers, he scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter and made a clutch steal off Johnny Abarrientos to seal the win.
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 the Talk 'N Text Phone Pals.
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 pressuring Boyet Fernandez and Shell completed the upset.
[18] On August 3, 2005, Dela Cruz was traded to the Alaska Aces along with Rich Alvarez for Rob Duat and Eugene Tejada, as Shell took a leave of absence from the league.
[21] In a 2006–07 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.
[23] In a 2006–07 Philippine Cup win over Red Bull, Dela Cruz scored 18 points to lead Alaska.
[34] In the 2009 Fiesta Conference, he scored a season-high 20 points in an Alaska win over the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.
[39] During the 2011–12 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.
[48] The following conference, the 2016 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.
[23][56] [57] [58] In 2004, Dela Cruz made his debut for the Philippine men's national team in the Global Hoops Summit.
In 2007, Dela Cruz suffered an ankle injury during the team's campaign in the 2007 FIBA Asia Champions Cup.
[59] Due to the injury, he wasn't able to compete in the Southeast Asia Basketball Association (SEABA) men's championship.
[60][61] In 2012, while recuperating from an injury, Dela Cruz became an assistant coach under Luigi Trillo for the Cebuana Lhuillier Gems.
[41] Soon after retiring from playing, he, along with Eric Altamirano, Danny Ildefonso, and Sean Chambers, joined Alaska's coaching staff under Alex Compton.
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.
[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.