Nic Belasco

Nicholas M. Bayaca Belasco (born December 10, 1973) is a Filipino-American professional basketball player who last played for the Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL). He was drafted 2nd overall by Sunkist in 1997. Born in Stockton, California, he was an import for the Westports Malaysia Dragons in the Asean Basketball League. He was an assistant coach for the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He founded the Belasco Unlimited Skills Academy (BUSA).

Early life Belasco grew up in Stockton, California, which is home to a large community of Filipinos. Before he came to the Philippines, he had the nickname of "Saint Nic." He is a third-generation Filipino-American with his ancestor coming over in 1926 doing farm labor in the Stockton area. Belasco was recruited by agent Bobby Rius during his stint in the San Francisco Pro-Am leagues.

Professional career

Sunkist Orange Juicers/Pop Cola Panthers Belasco was drafted 2nd overall by Sunkist in 1997. He was traded to the Beermen.

San Miguel Beermen Belasco was traded along with Dwight Lago and Cris Bolado in exchange for Mythical Team selection Nelson Asaytono and Will Antonio. He has won 8 championships in his PBA career, six of them which he earned with San Miguel Beermen. In the 2004-05 Philippine Cup, he averaged around 17 points, 11.7 boards, 1.34 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.4 blocked shots and 1.8 errors in 37 minutes. He won a championship with the Alaska Aces in the 2007 Fiesta Conference.

Coca-Cola Tigers On March 8, 2008, Belasco was shipped to the Coca-Cola Tigers in exchange for Mark Isip.

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters On August 3, 2009, in a three-way trade involving the Barako Bull Energy Boosters, Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, and Coca-Cola Tigers, Belasco was shipped to the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, Rob Reyes to the Barako Bull Energy Boosters and Larry Rodriguez to the Coca-Cola Tigers.

Sta. Lucia Realtors The Texters gave him, Ali Peek, and Pong Escobal to Sta. Lucia in a three-team, eight-player deal.

Return to Alaska Aces One month later, he returned to the Aces along with Eddie Laure. In 2013, he won his 8th championship when the Aces won the 2013 Commissioner's Cup.

He was then placed in the 2014 expansion draft where the Kia Sorento picked him. He practiced with the team, but didn't play any games with them. Thus, he was forced into retirement.

Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors (MPBL) Five years after retiring, he returned to playing basketball, this time with the Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors. He was 45 years old at this time.

In 2016, he became an assistant coach under Ariel Vanguardia for the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters.

Player profile Belasco was a big man who played in the league during his career. He played inside the paint and also shot from the outside, and was used as a defensive specialist.

After retiring in 2014, Belasco put up the Belasco Unlimited Skills Academy (BUSA) with fellow ex-PBA star Ali Peek.