REALTORS BREAK NEW GROUND - Francis Ochoa, Today
THE Philippine Basketball Association is indeed one total entertainment package. There's action, there's suspense, there's a dash of show business, a pinch of politics and a lot more.
And hey, it even has a punchline.
Question: What's as green as envy, as white as the bones protruding from the knuckles of a farmer worked to near-death and can only dream of the color
Answer: Sta. Lucia Realty.
Yup, in a league with everything. Sta. Lucia
was a team with nothing. And this was a team
that tried it all. Cheap labor from the south.
Over hyped franchised players. Over hyped
frontline combination. Grand Slam coach.
Scientific coach. English-speaking coach,
spoken.
And yet, through nine
years, the Realtors came to
be known as one thing: The
only team never to have won
a championship in the league.
At least, Talk 'N Text has
one. The Phone Pals
bagged the exhibition
Centennial Cup in 1998. Red
Bull, which joined the league
Cup at the expense of erstwhile defending champion San Miguel Beer.
Tanduay never won a championship in its return to the league, but who
cares? The team's ancestry is steeped in championship tradition.
But Sta. Lucia? Team Manager Buddy Encarnado has seen more players,
coaches and staff come and go than he would have if he had quit his job and
started out a career as a circus gatekeeper.
Actually, the Realtors did make a championship appearance shortly after
Talk 'N Text won that tournament.
But it was a short-lived fling with greatness as San Miguel whipped the
Ansu Sesay and the Realtors black-and-blue in the Commissioner's Cup
Finals in 2000, losing 1-4 in the best-of-seven series.
So, still no championship. Until now.
The winds of change blew in the Commissioner's Cup, when the Realtors
signed a pair of key acquisitions that would carry over to the Governor's Cup.
One was Damian Owens. The Afro-look import had a game so mean, he
almost led the Realtors in a late conference charge in the Commissioner's Cup
before falling short of a Final Four stint.
But even then, all the teams knew Owens was going to be a force to reckon
The other was a consultant Alfrancis Chua,
the fiery mentor known for his volcanic outbursts
mixed with an ironic adherence to Zen principles.
With the Realtors, Chua was faced with Zen
koan: How does one empty nine years of an
empty trophy case?
While coach Norman Black provided the
science for the team, Chua provided the Realtors with a little nerve, a little backbone and
a lot of energy. Marlou Aquino running up and
down the court, Dennis Espino crushing defense
at the post and Paolo Mendoza, Chris Tan,
