Nic Belasco: From hardcourt to boardroom

MANILA, Philippines -  A successful transition from hardcourt to boardroom and from basketball scrimmages to business meetings was the path taken by multi-titled professional basketball player Nicholas ‘Nic’ Belasco as he climbed the corporate ladder to become the general manager of The City Club.

In a span of less than two years, Belasco worked his way up the corporate ladder to become the head of the leisure, entertainment, and business club owned by businessman Roberto V. Ongpin.

Belasco, who owns eight championship rings through two different teams and under four different coaches, said he made a lot of adjustments in order to survive in the corporate world.

“I made some huge adjustments. I had to learn how to navigate and maneuver in the corporate setting. I was always outspoken and I always had to win. Winning was number one to me so if I felt like we were not doing something that was helping us win I always said something about it,” Belasco said.

According to him, he learned how to navigate in the corporate world at the age of 43 after playing 17 years in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

“I had to learn business so really it is like on the job training in the sense that I have been doing for the past two years. Running the sports department and doing the projections, doing the budget and all the finances and stuff like that. I was making deals for the club,” he added.

Belasco was drafted second overall by Sunkist Orange Juicers in 1997 and played for various teams such as San Miguel Beermen, Alaska Aces, Welcoat Dragons, Coca-Cola Tigers, Talk “N Text Tropang Texters, Sta. Lucia Realtors,  Powerade Tigers, and Alaska Aces until 2014.

The Fil-American player won six championships with San Miguel Beermen and two with Alaska Aces. He also played as an import of the Wetports Malaysia Dragon in the Asean Basketball League in 2012.

“So coming into the corporate, when my career ended as a player I always prayed for a chance to show someone in a big corporate setting my work ethic and how it translate into business. But I did not know how that was going to happen,” Belasco said.

Bad decisions

After his career, he founded the Belasco Unlimited Skills Academy (BUSA) where he trained teams in the 16-under and corporate leagues as well as semi-professional team, the Laguna BUSA Warriors that played in the Filsports Basketball Association (FBA).

“I started from scratch I was paying for the gym like I was paying P3,000 for gym rental.  My kids, my wife, and I would carry the gym equipment. No matter who came in, I still have to pay the gym. I started realizing that business structure was not so great and I was losing a lot of money,” he said.

“You are not going to be successful unless you are focused like that. That was how I was so I did not pay attention to business. I was not smart with my money and made a lot of bad business decisions,” he added.

Belasco was hired by head coach Ariel Vanguardia to be the assistant coach of Phoenix Fuel Masters in 2016.

Second chance

Belasco said he was hired as basketball coach of The City Club after his PBA career and was able to hold his basketball academy and paid the club 30 percent of his earnings.

“Now I got really lucky finding this second chance of establishing myself in a big corporation like Alphaland. What I really did is I used the same work ethic that made me a basketball player. I am a workhorse, so my model always is I am going to outwork everyone that is around me. There will be no one that is going to work harder than me,” he said.

Belasco was then promoted to sports director in May 2015 and to assistant general manager for sports and recreation and eventually overall assistant general manager.

Last December, Ongpin promoted him as general manager of The City Club.

“It was not easy but when he (Ongpin) promoted me to GM. I told him that basketball is a big part of my life and I worked really hard to get back in the PBA,” he said.

Belasco narrated the company made some adjustments to allow him to pursue his passion for basketball and at the same time serve as head of the club.

“Once they made me GM, then that is all when it all started making sense. As a GM, it is all under my control. I control who is where and what position they are in and that is exactly the same as coaching,” he said.

Belasco, who has a degree in psychology, said a coach has to know how to mix and match different personalities.

“You have to know how to get the best performance out of average players. You have to be able to put them in a position to be able to succeed Every one is a five star player only if you put them in a position to be a five star player. You have to be able to read those situations and read people,” he added.

Resort in the middle of Makati CBD

Belasco described The City Club as a resort in the middle of the Makati central business district. The City Club that occupies a gross floor area of three-hectares at the Alphaland Makati Place is situated along Ayala Ave. extension.

Aside from The City Club, the Makati Place has three residential towers with 55 floors and an upscale mall. The club caters to all business, lifestyle, and fitness requirements. It has fully equipped, state-of-the-art athletic complex including indoor tennis, basketball, squash, and badminton courts.

“We have great restaurants all kinds of different culture in here. If you come down to the lounge area it is like Disneyland. You have Spain here, you have Italy here, you have Japan, France and over there is China, Thailand and America.  You have it all in one place and the food is really good,” he said.