again before asking any questions when everybody's dead.
Luckily, in the Governor's Cup, the littered dead bodies belonged to the
opposition.
Even after a late collapse in the elimination round, the Realtors still found
themselves well entrenched in the Top Four. There was a little trouble
disposing of Pop Cola in the semifinals, but once the Realtors reached the
Finals, it was clear they were going to be the aggressors, not San Miguel,
despite the label of defending champion attached to the latter.
"We definitely wanted to win this title. Especially for management, which
has waited long for this," said Black, who also had a long personal wait. Black
hadn't won a championship since 1994, while coaching, quite ironically, San
Miguel Beer. He was a perfect match for the Realtors, who hadn't won a
title since joining the league in 1993. And Chua? He never won a PBA title at
all.
If that's not hunger, add this: Espino, Francisco, Mendoza, Tan haven't
won PBA championships. Aquino has one, but from a different era.
"These are men on a mission," said Black.
Right there and then, San Miguel was dead. If a person who hasn't eaten
for weeks gets into a boxing match with a guy who just polished off a Big
Brothers pounder, the latter might win. But if the prize is an eat-all-you-can
ticket at any cost of those posh Rockwell restaurants, the outcome is a foregone conclusion.
Right from the start, the championship was a foregone conclusion. You could see it in the brazen attitude of the Sta. Lucia young turks. They were
not afraid of the Beermen at all. In fact, it was San Miguel that seemed to play
tentatively, lulling themselves into their worn-out game plan several times while the Realtors came up with imaginative ways of running the Beermen's
defense through the shredder.
In six games, the Relators fulfilled their destiny. Tan, a no-fear gunner who
is not fazed by zero-of-gazillion shooting clip, felled the Beermen with one
mighty triple that put an end to the series. And for the first time, green and
white confetti rained down the Araneta Coliseum as Sta. Lucia won its first PBA championship in franchise history.
The Realtors no longer have to reside outside the elicite circle. They no
longer have to look wistfully at the teams who have been welcomed to the
championship club. They are in there already.
As for San Miguel, at least, the Beermen were not the biggest losers after
the championship series. At least, the team still has several seasons to look
for more championships.
The league's jokers, on the other hand, have forever lost their punchline.
