by Waylon Galvez, March 4, 2008

http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT20080304118511.html

For nine years, Buddy Encarnado, like a sci-fi scientist, tinkered and assembled and broke down bits and piece of the Sta. Lucia Realty franchise, putting them back together in the hopes he had hit upon the right elements to get his green machine revved up and roaring.

In 2001, he struck gold when the Realtors, powered by a high grade engine of an import named Damien Owens, won their first Philippine Basketball Association crown — the Governors Cup — on a long-range bomb by Chris Tan at the buzzer in Game Six of the Finals against the San Miguel Beermen.

But the promise of a championship run came to a sudden and abrupt halt after that, forcing Encarnado to return to the design lab to push for more experiments.The prestigious All-Filipino title, especially, would remain elusive, and it would take the Realtors representative to the league board another seven years of tinkering, breaking down and assembling to put together – through trades and the draft – a special edition machine that bore the backbone of its lone precious past and the gears and pistons of a brand new future.

Last Sunday, however, in an unforgettable Game 7 witnessed by more than 18,000 fans that packed the Araneta Coliseum to bursting point, the latest version of the Sta, Lucia Realtors delivered a performance worthy of a standing ovation. They finally won their first all-Filipino conference title – the Smart-PBA Philippine Cup.In the climax of a highly-emotional and extremely-physical best-of-seven series, the Realtors cut down the Purefoods Giants, 100-88, to take their place among the league’s finest.

Asked why it took the Exequiel Robles franchise 16 long years to nail down an all-Filipino title, Encarnado replied: “I guess the number one reason is the difficulty in finding the right combination. It’s a question of the right players and at the same time the right coach. After so many experiments, we finally found the right formula.”

It all started when Sta. Lucia elevated former player Teodorico ‘Boyet’ Fernandez from an assistant to head coach, replacing Alfrancis Chua before last season’s Fiesta Cup. Then came two important trades – the first coming at the middle of the Fiesta Cup, and the second one before this season-opening Philippine Cup. Not a few scoffed at the Realtors’ decision to give away Kenneth Duremdes, the 1998 Most Valuable Player; playmaker Alex Cabagnot and power forward Ricky Calimag to the Coca-Cola Tigers last April.

In return, Sta. Lucia got hustling playmaker Dennis Miranda, center Manny Ramos, and a second round pick in this year’s PBA Rookie Draft. During the off-season, the Realtors made another move, shipping forward Mark Isip and three-point specialist Cesar Catli to the Tigers for spitfire guard Joseph Yeo. “Some trades looked one-sided,” Encarnado agreed. “But we had to do something drastic.”

They also caused a lot of heads to turn during last year’s Rookie Draft when they selected as the third overall pick Fil-American guard Ryan Reyes, until that point of untested quality. “Nobody thought we’ll take Ryan Reyes. Management wanted JC Intal,” Encarnado said, adding that the brothers of team owner Exequiel Robles were impressed with the former Ateneo stalwart. The gamble paid off as Reyes came out huge for the Realtors during their semifinal match against the Alaska Aces and in the Finals against the Giants.

Miranda also played solid as the team’s starting point guard, while Yeo, a fearless slasher, was instant offense coming off the bench. The three blended beautifully with electrifying sophomore forward Kelly Williams, the Best Player of the Conference; Dennis Espino, the Finals MVP; veterans Marlou Aquino and Paolo Mendoza, and rising star Nelbert Omolon.

“The enthusiasm of the new players gave the extra boost. Knowing that they have new, sensational rookies and teammates, the veterans believed they can make a big thing out of this,” Encarnado said. “We adopted defensive running system. We got players who have the stamina and natural talent for running and playing go-go basketball.”

A summer camp in Boston with Kevin Barbosa during the off-season worked wonders for the team, according to Fernandez, as evidenced by the Realtors finishing the elimination phase with a franchise-best eight-game winning streak for a 14-6 win-loss card that earned them a first ever outright semifinal berth.

The rest is history.

They beat the Aces in the semifinals, opened a 2-0 lead against the Giants in the Finals, saw the series tied at 2-2, inched ahead with a victory in Game 5, and settled down to a sudden-death Game 7 after losing Game 6.

“Allow us to enjoy this moment for about a week,” Encarnado begged with a smile when asked during the post-game interview what the Realtors plan to do for an encore. “We’re just so happy to win this. Then maybe we can start thinking about the next conference.”