Belasco grew up in Stockton, California, which is home to a large community of Filipinos.[2] Before he came to the Philippines, he had the nickname of "Saint Nic."[3] 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.[4]
Professional career
Sunkist Orange Juicers/Pop Cola Panthers
Belasco was drafted 2nd overall by Sunkist in 1997.[5] 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.[6] 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.[3] This was highlighted by a 30-point performance against his former team.[3]
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.[12]
He was then placed in the 2014 expansion draft where the Kia Sorento picked him.[13] He practiced with the team,[14] but didn't play any games with them. Thus, he was forced into retirement.[15]
Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors (MPBL)
Five years after retiring, he returned to playing basketball, this time with the Pasig Sta. Lucia Realtors.[16] He was 45 years old at this time.[16] He played under the "Fil-Am" category.[16]
Coaching career
After Kia didn't play him, he became the head coach of the Laguna BUSA Warriors.[17]
In 2016, he became an assistant coach under Ariel Vanguardia for the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters.[1] He was tasked with developing their big men, such as Prince Caperal.[18]
Player profile
Belasco was one of the many reliable big men in the league during his playing days. He was a workhorse inside the paint and is a good shooter from the outside.[2] Belasco is also a proven defense specialist.[2]
Personal life
He is married to Maria Rafaella Verdadero, a former Miss Philippines-Australia and Ms. Binibing Pilipinas-World 2003, since 2004.[19]
After retiring in 2014, Belasco put up the Belasco Unlimited Skills Academy (BUSA) with fellow ex-PBA star Ali Peek.[15]
After his assistant coaching career, he focused more on his job as the general manager of a sports facility in Makati.[5] He became an operations manager for ASM Global in September 2023.[4]
