The Event
Spike For Hope benefiting PADRES Contra El Cáncer in Hermosa Beach, CA, on May 20, 2007

The Host
Adrian Bellani loves bringing attention to PADRES. "The great thing about our organization is that we don't only help the kids [with cancer], but we help the family that is going through this nightmare," he pointed out. "A lot of these families don't have anything. Over 73 percent of the families we take in are Hispanics who have an income of under $25,000 a year. Our organization helps them financially, emotionally and mentally get through this entire thing. We provide them with pretty much everything they need, whether it's transportation from home to the hospital, to meal vouchers for while they're at the hospital. If they're going through treatment like this, they have to cut back on so many things to help their kid survive. Then again, it's an organization that doesn't turn any family away; we help families of all races."

So, why volleyball? "From the get-go, I wanted to do something with volleyball," replied Bellani, "because I played all through high school and I competed in Central America with my school and we won tournaments. I thought it would be fun to do beach volleyball. We hear about charity golf tournaments, and bowling and basketball, but I don't think there are many charity beach volleyball games. This event was supposed to happen last year and unfortunately, we couldn't get it off the ground. This year, we made it a huge event because we piggybacked on the AVP [Association of Volleyball Professionals]. To play center court in between the men's and the women's semifinals is great. It's a blessing from God and a dream come true because I get to help this charity that I'm so involved with, and bless the kids with as much as I can. I'm still only a soap actor and I want to give back as much as I can."

The Coach
James Hyde (Sam) was present, but didn't dig his post-knee-surgery condition. "I get chills when I come down to the beach, hear the crowd and there's some sort of a ball involved," he shared. "I go bananas because I want to play so bad. I'm feeling so good right now that it's scary. But that's the thing about surgery, there is that sixth week to the eighth week where you really have to pull yourself back so that everything can fall into place." Still, the competitive actor was able to coach from the sidelines and take pride in his on-screen son-in-law's work. "Adrian was so worried last year [when the event didn't happen]," noted Hyde. "I said, 'Don't push it and let it evolve.' This year, you see that everything fell into place and it will probably just get better and better every year. I'm so proud of him."

The Players
Eva Longoria (Gabrielle, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES; ex-Isabella, Y&R), a national spokesperson for PADRES, was thrilled to take one for the team. "Adrian stacked our team, the Dream Team," beamed the petite actress, who was comfortable being surrounded by daytime hunks. "It's a very tight community, the soap opera community, and you remain friends forever. It's like my family, it's where I came from, it's where I started, so it just makes me feel at home to be around other soap stars. I'm still on a soap, too."