Three years after first crossing paths, Alex Eala and Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra reunited ahead of the Filipina tennis star’s return to the Miami Open.
Before Alex Eala returns to the tournament that helped launch her to tennis mainstream, the Filipina ace once again linked up with one of the most prominent Filipino-American figures in the NBA.
Eala shared a moment with Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra in a video shared by the team on social media, with the two seen chatting and posing for a photo ahead of the 20-year-old’s return to the Miami Open this week.
It was a full-circle scene for Eala, who also crossed paths with Spoelstra in 2023 when she was still a teenage prospect beginning to carve out her place on the global stage.
Back then, she also snapped a photo with Heat star Bam Adebayo.
Now, she heads back to Miami as one of the brightest young names in women’s tennis.
[Art by Mitzi Solano/One Sports]
Eala returns to the Miami Open fresh off climbing to a new-career high ranking of world no. 29.
[RELATED: Erik Spoelstra in awe of Alex Eala's magical Miami Open run]
She gets a first-round bye and will face the winner between Laura Siegemund and Petra Marcinko in the next round.
[RELATED: Alex Eala gets first-round bye at Miami Open as another Swiatek showdown looms]
Spoelstra, meanwhile, continues to steer the Heat through a tight Eastern Conference race.
Miami sits at 38-30, good for seventh in the East and just a half-game behind Orlando and Toronto, who are tied for fifth at 38-29.
And Adebayo has given the Heat plenty of momentum of his own.
In a performance for the ages, the Miami big man erupted for 83 points in a 150-129 victory over the Washington Wizards last week, the second-highest single-game scoring output in NBA history behind only Wilt Chamberlain’s iconic 100-point game.
[RELATED: NBA: Heat's Spoelstra unapologetic amid criticism of Bam Adebayo 83-point game]
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Pao Ambat earned his journalism degree from Cavite State University in 2022.
Passionate about sports from a young age, he primarily covers the NBA for One Sports, while also assisting in reporting on the PVL, PBA, UAAP, and other leagues.