Behind the scenes

LAS VEGAS — Head coach Chot Reyes and assistant Tim Cone weren’t the only master tacticians who laid out the battle plans for the Philippine national basketball team at the Global Hoops Summit.

Their co-conspirators were Aboy Castro and Binky Favis. Also in the group was trainer Dennis Aenlle.

Aboy, 34, is from Baguio City and went to La Salle Green Hills elementary school before enrolling at Philippine Science High. He earned a degree in chemical engineering at the University of the Philippines.

Chot plucked Aboy from the Coca-Cola coaching staff to help out in the national squad.

"My expectation in the Las Vegas trip was to gain more experience preparing for a week-long tournament where you play five games in six days," said Aboy. "I also looked forward to seeing how we fare against other Asian and bigger, more athletic American players."

Aboy said he’s still learning to appreciate the "little differences and nuances" of the international game, particularly in terms of screening, hand-checking and pace which is faster than a typical Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) contest.

Binky played for the University of Santo Tomas varsity and coached Letran in the varsity leagues before moving to San Miguel Beer then Ginebra San Miguel in the PBA. Considered one of the PBA’s most brilliant scouts, Favis may be in line to take a head coaching position sooner than later.

Dennis, 32, finished his Physical Therapy studies at De los Santos College and joined the Coca-Cola Tigers as team trainer three years ago. He is also the San Beda College senior varsity trainer.

It was Dennis who attended to Ren-Ren Ritualo and Don Allado when they suffered separate injuries during the Summit. Ren-Ren strained his left calf muscle in the Philippines’ game against the Long Beach Jam and Don sprained his left ankle in the Nigeria match.

Ren-Ren said in his playing career, he had never asked to be taken out of a game because of an injury until last Monday.

Playing one game after another on consecutive games took its toll on Ren-Ren who confessed he played through the pain in the recent PBA Fiesta Conference.

Dennis said only time, rest and a lot of rehabilitation will heal Ren-Ren’s injury. Surgery isn’t the answer. The strain has knocked Ren-Ren out of the Philippine team lineup for the Jones Cup in Taipei.

Dennis wrapped Don’s ankle after he suffered the sprain. He wasn’t sent back in to play. Don, however, should be fine. Today, he flies to Sarasota, Florida, with Tim, Sonny Thoss and Mike Cortez to attend the eight-day International Management Group basketball camp.

Tim said the Sarasota facility also has a high school and training centers for baseball, football and tennis. Maria Sharapova, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi are graduates of the Sarasota tennis camp.

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The only non-PBA player on the team was Kelly Williams who was recruited by Chot from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan.

The soft-spoken Kelly, 23, won’t be eligible for the coming PBA draft because he missed filing his confirmation of citizenship papers before the May deadline. He’ll apply for the draft next year for sure.

Kelly is a legitimate Fil-Am. His mother is a full-blooded Filipina, Andrea Mata of Cebu. She works in Michigan as a home health care consultant. His stepfather is Vernell Parker. Kelly has a sister Kristina, 28, and a brother Curtis, Jr., 25.

Probably the most athletic player on the national squad, Kelly drew raves when he elevated for a slam dunk from an alley-oop in the game against Nigeria. He scored a total of 19 points in the Philippines’ five-game series at the Summit.

Asked to list his strengths, Kelly singled out rebounding, intensity and the ability to create mismatches. He said his weakness is "selective aggressiveness."

Kelly said the opportunity to play for the national team is "a blessing from God" and "I hope to learn as much as possible from the veteran coaches and players that I’m surrounded with."

His goals as a national player are "to get better with every practice and game, either mentally or physically, not taking any step back in my development as a player, professionally."

A bachelor, Kelly scribbled something unique in his bio-sheet form under his wife’s name. He wrote, "Ask God."

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A Fil-Am on the team isn’t really a Fil-Am because he was born in Manila although raised in the US. Anthony (Jay-Jay) Helterbrand took his stepfather Ronald’s surname when his Filipina mother Melanie remarried. He has a brother Rico, 37, and sister Renee, 35.

Helterbrand, 28, said he’s ’very proud and honored to be selected’ as a national player.

On the Las Vegas experience, he said, "I wanted to gain experience playing good competition, get back in game shape and win." Jay-Jay added that his goals as a national cager are "to contribute any way I can and to bring intensity into the game every time I’m on the court."

Jay-Jay’s wife Charlotte and their two kids Keana, 11, and Jalyn, 5, didn’t make the trip here. They live in South Carolina.

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Still another Fil-Am is Tony de la Cruz, the team’s second leading scorer. He tallied 52 points in five games at the Summit while Dondon Hontiveros scored 54 in four.

Tony’s parents Manny and Nellie have been married for 32 years.

Manny, an accountant by profession, said the secret of their happy marriage is compromise. "Our cultures are different but we’ve learned to find a middle ground," said Manny, a Filipino through and through. Nellie, an American of German descent, recently retired as a senior bank analyst.

Nellie said she’s always liked basketball. "I never failed to watch Tony play in high school and college," she said. "He was being asked to join the football and volleyball teams but he decided to concentrate on basketball."

Nellie will leave for Manila next month to babysit Tony’s second child who’s expected any day now. Tony’s wife Julie is a Filipina who was born and raised in the US.

"Julie’s mother, a nurse, is now in Manila from Los Angeles," said Nellie. ’When it’s time for her to go, it’ll be my turn to take care of Julie and my new grandchild."

Tony is the only boy in the family. He has two sisters Alison, 30, and Marcie, 24.

Manny and Nellie were in the Cox Pavilion stands to watch every game the Philippine team played.

Where did Tony get his good looks "From his mother, of course," said Manny, lovingly holding his wife’s hand.