Alex Eala flanked by Miami Heat player Bam Adebayo and Filipino-American coach Eric Spoelstra. –MIAMI HEAT TWITTER
MANILA, Philippines—Alex Eala may have exited this year’s Miami Open early, but she was not going to go home empty-handed.
During her trip to Florida, Eala made a stop at Miami-Dade Arena to watch Filipino-American coach Erik Spoelstra get his 700th career win in the NBA as a coach after beating New York, 127-120, to bolster the Heat’s playoff chances.
Filipino tennis ace Eala, who bowed out of the Miami Open round of 128, made her way backstage to meet Spoelstra and Bam Adebayo, who finished with 15 points and seven rebounds, for a short dialogue and some photo ops.
Coach Spo 🤝 Alex Eala
2 of the Philippines’ finest 🇵🇭🎾🏀 pic.twitter.com/GelBHWaKPL
— Miami HEAT (@MiamiHEAT) March 23, 2023
In a video posted by the Miami Heat’s official Twitter account, Spoelstra and Eala were heard talking about the 17-year-old’s future games.
“I’ll come see you play. Is that a deal?” Spoelstra said, to which Eala happily agreed.
Eala took to Instagram to show her appreciation to the team and coach Spoelstra while also congratulating the Heat coach.
“Congratulations, coach Spo for your 700th career win. It was so nice meeting you. Still holding on to our deal,” wrote Eala.
Eala’s next stage to play in will be at the Roland Garros Open. Spoelstra, on the other hand, is hoping to make a playoff run with the Heat as they are currently in the sixth seed with 40 wins and 34 losses.