Kelvin Charles Chicote dela Peña (born January 19, 1984) is a Filipino-Canadian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

athlete who played shooting guard for the Alaska Aces of the PBA, the

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Magnolia ...

of the ASEAN Basketball League and Calgary Crush of the ABA.

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 Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, Canada, where he began his basketball career and suited up for

Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Originally “Mount Royal College,” Mount Royal University was granted university status in 2009 by the provincial government. The university has an average class s ...

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 The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

's Mapúa Institute of Technology team, and

Philippine Basketball League The Philippine Basketball League (PBL) was a commercial semi-professional basketball league in the Philippines. The league was composed of several commercial teams with several collegiate and provincial stars. History The PBL was formed on M ...

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 NCAA Season 83 is the 2007–08 Season of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (Philippines). José Rizal University is the host of the 2007–2008 season, with this year's theme " Soaring High and Free at 83". NCAA Season 82's commissione ...

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 The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) is a men's professional basketball league in the Philippines, composed of twelve company-branded Franchising, franchise teams. Founded in 1975, it is the first professional basketball league in Asia ...

from 2008 to 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

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 The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major professional basketball league that operated for nine seasons from 1967 to 1976. The upstart ABA operated in direct competition with the more established National Basketball Association thr ...

. Dela Peña was an assistant coach for the girls' basketball team at

St. Mary's University, Calgary St. Mary’s University is a private Catholic university in Calgary, Alberta. A teaching and research university, St. Mary's is accredited by Alberta Advanced Education as an "Independent Academic Institution" and offers degrees in the liber ...

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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dela Pena, Kelvin 1984 births Living people Alaska Aces (PBA) players Filipino men's basketball players Point guards Shooting guards Basketball players from Calgary Basketball players from Manila Mapúa Cardinals basketball players Alaska Aces (PBA) draft picks 21st-century Filipino sportsmen