Sta. Lucia Realtors
Sta. Lucia Realtors | |||
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2010 | |||
History | Sta. Lucia Realtors (1993–2010) | ||
Team colors | Green, orange, white | ||
Company | Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Corporation | ||
Board governor | Buddy Encarnado | ||
Head coaches | see Coaches section | ||
Ownership | Exequiel Robles | ||
Championships | PBA: 2 championships 2001 Governors' 2007–08 Philippine 3 Finals Appearances 1992 Maharlika Cup *1994 Reinforced Conference | ||
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The Sta. Lucia Realtors were a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1993 to 2010. Prior to joining the PBA, it played in the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) from 1987 to 1992.
In 2015, a new Sta. Lucia Realtors team debuted in the inaugural conference of the Pilipinas Commercial Basketball League (PCBL).[1]
History
The Sta. Lucia Realtors began in the Philippine Amateur Basketball League (PABL) in 1986 PABL Filipino Cup, when it played as ESQ-Sta. Lucia, in partnership with ESQ Marketing. The following season, ESQ Marketing left the league and Sta. Lucia played as the Sta. Lucia Realtors. The PABL was renamed the Philippine Basketball League (PBL) in 1990. The Realtors won two PBL championships - the 1990 PBL Philippine Cup and the 1991-1992 PBL Maharlika Cup.
The franchise transferred to the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) by acquiring the franchise of Great Taste/Presto in 1992 and debuted in the 1993 season.
Prior to their PBA debut, the franchise was left with a few holdovers from the old Presto lineup including Vergel Meneses, Bong Hawkins (later traded to Swift and Alaska, respectively), and Gerry Esplana. Other players who joined the team within the season (through trades and free agent signings) were Bong Alvarez, Ric Ric Marata, Jack Tanuan and Johnedel Cardel.
Sta. Lucia had the top pick in the draft and selected amateur star
One of Sta. Lucia's first imports was Lambert Shell, who played during the Commissioner's Cup. The team's head coach during its first few years was former PBA coach Nat Canson.
Limpot/Espino tandem
In 1995, Sta. Lucia selected University of Santo Tomas star Dennis Espino as their first round draft pick. But his PBA debut was further delayed after suffering a nose injury during an exhibition game held in the Middle East.
Filipino-American Chris Jackson and Jose Francisco were also acquired in the 1995 draft, veteran shooter Romy dela Rosa later joined the team (via trade in 1994 for Bong Alvarez) to form a solid squad to complement Limpot and Espino.
Espino managed to return to Sta. Lucia late in the season. The Realtors then copped a third-place trophy in the Governor's Cup.
Two more third-place finishes were collected by Sta. Lucia during the 1995 All-Filipino and Commissioner's Cups, with Frederick Pea as import. From 1996, Sta. Lucia captured another third-place finish in the Commissioner's Cup with Adonis Tierra as head coach.
Sta. Lucia's best year was in
Reyes left the team in
The Realtors struggled in the Commissioner's Cup with Ronnie Coleman, brother of then-Philadelphia 76ers forward Derrick Coleman, missing the quarterfinals. Espino and Limpot were later loaned to the Philippine Centennial Team and the Realtors continued to struggle in the Governor's Cup.
In 1999, Limpot and Espino returned for Sta. Lucia but lost Romy dela Rosa to the Metropolitan Basketball Association. The Realtors then added former MBA star and 1992 PBA MVP Ato Agustin with Tierra returning as the head coach. Still, the Realtors placed dead last in the All-Filipino Cup.
Fil-American Robert Parker and Parker's college teammate Kwan Johnson joined the team in the 1999 Commissioner's Cup. The addition of both Parker and Johnson revived the franchise and eventually led to a fourth-place finish in the tournament. However, Parker, along with several other Filipino-American rookies, was targeted by jealous and insecure players and league personalities, and were accused of being Fil-shams. He left the Philippines afterwards out of frustration caused by the issue, and other off the court troubles involving female celebrities, leaving Johnson as Sta. Lucia's import for the Governor's Cup. Sta. Lucia owner Exy Robles and the Realtors management were charged by the government for hiring Parker. The charges were later dropped, as it was proven that the player indeed had legitimate Filipino lineage.
The departure of Parker left the Realtors to a struggling performance in the season-ending Governor's Cup. Johnson was eventually replaced by Joe Temple during the course of the tournament.
First championship
Before the
In the Commissioner's Cup, Ansu Sesay was signed by Sta. Lucia as an import. After placing second in the eliminations, they made it to the championship series for the first time in franchise history, only to lose to the talented San Miguel Beermen in five games. Sesay was named as Best Import of the said tournament.
With Joe Temple as import for the Governor's Cup, the Realtors did not make it past the quarterfinals. The same results can be said to the 2001 All-Filipino Cup and Commissioner's Cup.
However, in the Governor's Cup, Sta. Lucia signed Damian Owens as import, and the Realtors quickly dominated the tournament to secure their second finals appearance against the heavily favored San Miguel team.
After both teams split their series in Game Four, the Realtors won both Games 5 and 6. Game Six was tightly contested. After San Miguel import Lamont Strothers tied the game at 72 with an off-balanced runner, Chris Tan hit a 24-foot three-pointer with three seconds remaining to give Sta. Lucia the lead for good. The Game 6 win gave them their first-ever PBA championship with a 75–72 win and a 4–2 series victory.
Owens was then awarded the
Decline
In 2002, Sta. Lucia was not able to return to the Finals in each of the three conferences, thus failing to defend their Governor's Cup crown. After the season, Norman Black announced his resignation as head coach of Sta. Lucia, replacing him with former Tanduay mentor and Black's chief assistant Alfrancis Chua.
Even with the vast array of talent present in his squad, Chua failed to produce a championship in his tenure as the Realtors' coach.
During the
However, Sta. Lucia placed fourth in the All-Filipino, did not qualify for the special PBA Invitational tournament, and placed another fourth-place finish in the Reinforced Conference. Espino and Aquino, however, made it to the Mythical Team during the annual awards.
In the
The Realtors were again eliminated in the wildcard phase of the
In the
The Realtors finished with a 4–12 record in the classification phase of the
2006–07 season
In the off-season, the Sta. Lucia management had a big dispute with their ace point guard Alex Cabagnot, after the latter returned to the United States before a scheduled postseason team meeting. After months of failing to communicate with the team, and also playing for a Los Angeles-based summer league squad, the team handed out an indefinite suspension. But Cabagnot has since mended fences with the Realtors management and was able to play during the season.
During the
In the Philippine Cup, Sta Lucia was able to pull off a surprising start in the conference, due to great performances by their young player such as Williams, Cabagnot and veterans Marlou Aquino, Dennis Espino, and Kenneth Duremdes. However, a late slump followed a one-game playoff loss to Purefoods that relegated the Realtors to the wildcard phase. Despite a 1–2 win–loss record, Sta. Lucia was able to gain a berth in a knockout game due to their superior record in both the classification and wildcard phase. The Realtors defeated the Air21 Express 121–118 to advance to the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2003 Reinforced Conference. However, Sta Lucia lost 3–1 to Red Bull in the five-game series despite a Game 1 victory.
After the tournament, Alfrancis Chua was relieved of his duties as head coach and was moved to a position as team consultant. He was replaced by assistant coach Boyet Fernandez.
The Realtors paraded Rock Winston as import for the 2006–2007 Fiesta Conference. Sta. Lucia then dealt
2007–08 season and Second championship
The Realtors underwent a major overhaul in their roster. Nurse Coach Boyet Fernandez retained only 6 players from the previous roster and went on to tap undiscovered talent on the rookie free agent pool. Fernandez decided to get deserving players who have not got the chance to play in the PBA. The Realtors got Ryan Reyes, a standout from the PBL, and John Paul Limpo, from Malolos, Bulacan in the draft. Sta. Lucia also obtained the services of Dennis Daa, Christian Coronel, and Philip Butel from the rookie free agent pool. The team also added former Green Archer Joseph Yeo.
Sta. Lucia ended the elimination round of the All-Filipino Cup with 8 straight wins to get one of the two outright semi-finals slots along with the
2009–10 season
Due to insufficient funds, Sta. Lucia was forced to make alterations in their roster. They traded
Disbandment
In June 2010, there were reports that Meralco expressed interest in joining the PBA and intends to buy either Sta. Lucia's or
"Pure-Filipino" Policy
Sta. Lucia had a policy of fielding all pure-Filipino lineup, which meant for the team to acquire only those players who have no foreign blood. This was criticized by many PBA fans because of Sta. Lucia's reluctance to improve their team. Some blamed center
Another conflict is the case of
This policy was later scrapped after the team drafted Filipino-American
Final roster
Sta. Lucia Realtors roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Season-by-season records
- Records from the last 3 seasons:
Season | Conference | Elim./Clas. round | Playoffs | ||||
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Finish | W | L | % | Stage | Results | ||
Sta. Lucia Realtors | |||||||
2007–2008 | Philippine Cup |
2nd | 12 | 6 | .667 | Semifinals Finals |
Sta. Lucia 4, Purefoods 3
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Fiesta Conference | 9th | 7 | 11 | .389 | 1st wildcard round 2nd wildcard round Quarterfinals |
Sta. Lucia 99, Barangay Ginebra 2, Sta. Lucia 0
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2008–2009 | Philippine Cup |
5th | 10 | 8 | .556 | Quarterfinals Semifinals 3rd-place playoff |
Sta. Lucia 2, Rain or Shine 0 Alaska 4, Sta. Lucia 2 Sta. Lucia 100, San Miguel 97 (OT)* |
Fiesta Conference | 5th | 7 | 7 | .500 | Wildcard phase Quarterfinals |
Sta. Lucia 94, Burger King 2, Sta. Lucia 1
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2009–2010 | Philippine Cup |
6th | 10 | 8 | .556 | 1st wildcard round | Rain or Shine 90, Sta. Lucia 86* |
Fiesta Conference | 8th | 5 | 13 | .278 | 1st wildcard round | Coca-Cola 100, Sta. Lucia 84*
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Elimination/classification round | 51 | 54 | .486 | 4 post-wildcard appearances | |||
Playoffs | 17 | 17 | .500 | 1 championship |
*one-game playoffs
Players of note
PBA 40 greatest players
- Marlou Aquino #13
- Kenneth Duremdes #19
- Ronnie Magsanoc #5
- Kelly Williams #21
Other notable players
- Francis Adriano
- Dondel Belano
- Philip Butel
- Alex Cabagnot
- Boy Cabahug
- Aramis Calpito
- Christian Coronel
- Gabby Cui
- Dennis Daa
- Angelo David
- Andy De Guzman
- Richard del Rosario
- Romeo dela Rosa
- Maximo Delantes
- Gilbert Demape
- Dennis Espino
- Gerald Esplana
- Noynoy Falcasantos
- Boyet Fernandez
- Gerald Francisco
- Jose Francisco
- Arnold Gamboa
- Roberto Jabar
- Chris Jackson
- Peter Jao
- Jun Limpot
- Edgar Macaraya
- Jojo Martin
- Gilbert Mamaklay
- Paolo Mendoza
- Vergel Meneses
- Dennis Miranda
- Nelbert Omolon
- Michael Orquillas
- Marvin Ortiguerra
- Ali Peek
- Eugene Quilban
- Ryan Reyes
- Omanzie Rodriguez
- Jack Santiago
- Chris Tan
- Hercules Tangkay
- Melchor Teves
- Chito Victolero
- Rob Wainwright
- Jason Webb
- Joseph Yeo
- Norman Gonzales
Coaches
- Nemie Villegas (PABL 1987–1989)
- Francis Rodriguez (PBL 1989–1992)
- Nat Canson (1993–1995)
- Adonis Tierra (1996–1997), (1999)
- Chot Reyes (1997)
- Derrick Pumaren (1998)
- Norman Black (2000–2002)
- Alfrancis Chua (2003–2007)
- Boyet Fernandez (2007–2010)
See also
- Sta. Lucia Realtors (PCBL)
- Sta. Lucia Lady Realtors (PSL volleyball team)
- MPBL)
References
- ^ "New amateur league PCBL tasked by SBP to form PH's SEABA, SEA Games teams, says chair Buddy Encarnado". Interaksyon.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
- ^ Meralco eyes cage return via PBA next season, Rey Joble, GMANews.TV, June 24, 2010
- ^ Barako to compete anew; SLR bids goodbye Rey Joble, GMANews.TV, July 13, 2010
- ^ PBA welcomes MVP’s Meralco Archived August 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Waylon Galvez, Manila Bulletin, August 10, 2010