Orlando Antigua keeps family close, shares road to Final Four
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José de Jesus Ortiz, Founder & Editor in Chief
- April 1, 2026
Man of the house since early in life
HOUSTON – Soon after realizing that Orlando Antigua and the two younger Antigua boys had nowhere to live together, Gary DeCesare sought help from the head pastor at St. Raymond Catholic Church in the Bronx, N.Y., in 1989. At that time, the Antigua boys were split between different friends and family members.
By then, Orlando Antigua had assumed the role of man of the house while helping his single mom Damaris Fernandez raise and set an example for his younger brothers. But they were unhoused for a brief period, and they needed help.
St. Raymond Parish controlled an old convent on the corner of Purdy and Metropolitan Ave in the Bronx. The 12-room convent sat empty long after the nuns’ order had moved out, so the pastor offered to let the Antigua boys move in. There was one condition, though. DeCesare, who had just gotten married, had to live with the boys.
DeCesare, who was the head basketball coach at St. Raymond at the time, moved in with the boys to keep them together. Almost 37 years later, DeCesare loves seeing how close the Antiguas remain. That tight bond was evident on Saturday night at Houston’s Toyota Center when Orlando Antigua had more than half a dozen relatives celebrating with him on the court after Illinois beat Iowa to clinch a spot in the Final Four.
Final Four bound
“It’s what we’re about.” Orlando Antigua said while hugging his mom Damaris Fernandez and his wife of 29 years, Dana. “ We’re about our family. I have my wife here. I got my sister here, my daughter. It’s a family affair like we always do, man. It don’t change.”
Orlando Antigua, a former McDonald’s All-American and the first Latino to play for the Harlem Globetrotters, is the associate head coach of the Fighting Illini. He is credited with recruiting the Eastern European stars who have played crucial roles this season for Illinois.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood calls Antigua “The Goat” while explaining why the former Pitt star is such a key part of his coaching staff. Antigua developed his leadership skills early in life in the Bronx after his single mom sent for them from the Dominican Republic.
Damaris Fernandez moved to New York from the Dominican Republic alone. After she established herself in the Bronx, she brought her boys to join her. Orlando was 4 years old at the time. Oliver was 2, and Omar was 1.
“It means everything,” Oliver Antigua says of Orlando’s guidance. “He was our big brother, and he looked out for us growing up. He instilled hard work and the importance of family. And we wouldn’t be here without him. We’re proud of him too.”
Long, difficult road from the Bronx
Oliver and his wife Jesse were among the family members at the Elite Eight game between Illinois and Iowa. They were on the court celebrating with Orlando and the Fighting Illini after Illinois won the South Regional.
Orlando’s wife Dana and their daughter Olivia were also there with the matriarch, Damaris Fernandez. Orlando’s sister Meredith Marte and his nephew Leo Astacio were there too.
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They sat behind the Illinois bench nervously waiting for the Fighting Illini to clinch their first Final Four berth in 21 years. Orlando Antigua helped Kentucky win a national title as an assistant in 2012. The family appreciates how difficult it is to return to the Final Four.
Moreover, they appreciate how much the family has overcome. Before the threat of homelessness, Orlando Antigua had already overcome a near-death gunshot wound by his left eye as a 14-year-old in 1987.
He was an innocent bystander in the shooting. A few years later, he was playing for DeCesare at St. Raymond when his coach found the empty convent for them to stay.
Recruiting ace
“Going back to the time, obviously Orlando was a young high school sophomore and he was the oldest of three brothers,” DeCesare said. “He kind of just fell into that role of becoming the man of the house. They had some rough times. There was some separation between the boys and the mom for a little bit.
“The pastor said we could use it, but ‘the catch is you’re going to have to stay with them.’ I just got married that year, and I came home and told my wife, ‘I’m moving out. I have to move into the convent for the Antiguas so they can have some supervision and attend school.’”
DeCesare’s new bride Pam understood. The boys and the coach stayed at the convent for about four months before they were reunited with Fernandez. Almost 40 years later, Gary and Pam DeCesare are still married. Highly commended for his recruiting abilities, Orlando has been one of the top assistant coaches in college basketball for two decades.
Despite all the early challenges and struggles or perhaps because of them, Orlando Antigua has a positive, optimistic demeanor. Illinois coach Brad Underwood says that Antigua’s “glass half full” attitude is a good balance to his “glass half-empty” outlook.
As is evident from the Illinois roster, Antigua travels all over the world in search of talent. The Harlem Globetrotters’ first Latino player is literally still a globetrotter for his job. Orlando Antigua played for the Dominican Republic’s men’s national team in the 1990s and then coached the national team. He also spent 2 ½ years as the head coach at the University of South Florida between stints at Kentucky with John Calipari.
‘Very special moment’
“It definitely means so, so much because his hard work is paying off,” Dana Antigua says of her husband’s trip to the Final Four. “It’s our second time in the Final Four, and it is just so amazing that we’re going with another school.”
As the final minutes ticked off the clock Saturday night at Toyota Center, Orlando’s family nervously watched together a few feet behind Orlando and the team. Once the final buzzer went off, Fernandez found her 6-foot-7, 53-year-old son and hugged him tightly.
Then she asked him for one of the black South Regional Championship hats the Illinois players and staff were given immediately after the victory.
“It’s a very special moment,” Fernandez said in Spanish. “The Lord has gifted me all these years to see my son triumph. At this moment I’m the happiest mom in the world. Thank God!”
José de Jesus Ortiz
Founder & Editor in Chief
Award-winning writer Jose de Jesus Ortiz, a former lead sports columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, has covered Major League Baseball since 1997 in Los Angeles, St. Petersburg, New York and Houston. He was the first Latino to serve as president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
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