Kelvin dela Peña

Kelvin Charles Chicote dela Peña (born January 19, 1984) is a Filipino-Canadian professional basketball athlete who played shooting guard for the Alaska Aces of the PBA, the San Miguel Beermen of the ASEAN Basketball League and Calgary Crush of the ABA.

Kelvin dela Peña

Kelvin dela Peña (center) was named MVP and one of the Mythical 5 members of the 2007 NCAA Season 83.
Personal information
Born	January 19, 1984 Manila, Philippines
Nationality	Filipino / Canadian
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight	175 lb (79 kg)
Career information
High school	Bishop McNally (Calgary, Alberta)
College	Mapúa Institute of Technology
PBA draft	2008 Round: 2 / Pick: 15th overall
Selected by the Alaska Aces
Playing career	2008–present
Position	Point guard / shooting guard
Number	12
Career history
2008–2010	Alaska Aces
2011–2012	San Miguel Beermen
2013–2015	Calgary Crush (ABA)
Career highlights and awards
NCAA Rookie of the Year (2005) NCAA Most Valuable Player (2007) NCAA Mythical First Team (2007)

Early life

Dela Peña is the youngest son of Susan Chicote-dela Peña and of former Mapuan / San Miguel PBA athlete Ricardo dela Peña. He is brother to Richard dela Peña, who also has an accomplished background in basketball.

Dela Peña was raised in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where he began his basketball career and suited up for Mount Royal University Cougars. He was named in the All-Canadian team at age 17 and decided to pursue a career as a professional basketball athlete in the Philippines at age 20.

National Collegiate Athletic Association

As a college athlete in the Philippines, dela Peña played four seasons with the NCAA's Mapúa Institute of Technology team, and Philippine Basketball League as well as was a member of the RP team. In his four seasons as a Mapua Cardinal, he was awarded NCAA Season 81 Rookie of the Year, NCAA Season 83 Most Valuable Player, NCAA Season 83 Mythical Five and took the Cardinals to their final four stints all four of his college years earning him the titles of "King Cardinal" and "The Comeback Kid". Towards the final weeks before finishing his senior season of NCAA 84, dela Peña began to suffer from back spasms and played through the pain to assure that the Cardinals qualified in the final four.

Professional career

Dela Peña was drafted 15th overall in the second round in the PBA draft and suited up for the Alaska Aces of the Philippine Basketball Association from 2008-2010. Shortly after being drafted, he suffered from three herniated discs in his lower back and a pinched sciatic nerve and was given limited time on the court. After his two years with the Aces, he took a year off to recover. In September 2011, dela Peña became a member of the San Miguel Beermen of the ASEAN Basketball League where teams from the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, China and South Sumatra compete for a title. In 2013 he returned to his home town of Calgary Canada and suited up for the Calgary Crush, the only Western Canadian team in the American Basketball Association. Dela Peña was an assistant coach for the girls' basketball team at St. Mary's University, Calgary for one season, and has been the head coach for the boys' junior team at Bishop McNally High School since 2014.

His passion to help others with physical disabilities led dela Peña to pursue a career as a strength and conditioning specialist. In 2015 he co-founded Rise Up Hoops, a basketball academy that develops local Calgary talent through on court training and strength and conditioning programming for peak athletic performance.[1]

References