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By Eddie G. Alinea, Contributor
NEWLY-CROWNED PBA Philippine Cup champion Sta.
Lucia Realty is eyeing a 6-foot-11 veteran of the US NCAA who is now
playing in Europe as reinforcement in the hope of winning its first
back-to-back championship this season.
Coach Boyet Fernandez said on Friday that team
manager Buddy Encarnado is currently negotiating for the acquisition
of an import, who, he added, is what the Realtors need to beef up
their lineup in the coming Fiesta Cup.
He declined to name though his and the
management’s choice; he only said that the one they are eyeing can
be what the “doctor prescribes” if the Realtors wish to become
the only fourth team to sweep a season in the 33-year history of the
country’s first and only professional league.
“Huwag na muna nating banggitin kung sino at
anong klaseng player ang kinakausap natin, baka masulot pa. Lahat
naman ng team ang pangarap maka-grand slam and we are not an
exception” he said rather jestingly during the SCOOP forum at the
Kamayan Restaurant along Padre Faura.
“For winning our first All-Filipino crown, we
are the only team capable of completing a sort of a grand slam, kaya
ayaw ko naman mabulilyaso ang tsansa namin,” added Fernandez, who
was accompanied by assistant team manager team manager Ariel Magno,
assistant coaches Adonis Tierra and Cholo Martin.
Also present in the session sponsored by Accel
are team captain and Finals MVP Dennis Espino, Marlou Aquino, Paolo
Mendoza, Denok Miranda, Joseph Yeo, Bitoy Omolon, Norman Gonzales,
Dennis Daa and Melvin Mamaclay. Fil-Americans Kelly Williams and
Ryan Reyes had already flown to the U.S. to reunite with their
respective families.
Fernandez, himself a former Realtor before
succeeding former head mentor Alfrancis Chua, said the management is
considering three candidates—one a 6-10 giant and the other 6-9,
but it is the 6-11 NCAA veteran who is the first option.
“We believe he is what we need, especially in
hauling down those rebounds to ease the load from Dennis [Espino],
Marlou [Aquino] and Kelly [Williams],” he reasoned out.
Fernandez is expecting his import to arrive
before the start of the team’s practice on March 24.
Except for Espino, Aquino and Mendoza, the rest
of the Realtors had just tasted their first PBA championship,
although Yeo and Miranda, at one time or another, were members of
the UAAP champions De La Salle University and Far Eastern
University, respectively. Same with Coronel, who came from
multi-titled San Sebastian College in the NCAA.
Magno said the management, headed by sportsman
Exequiel Robles, is very happy ending their long seven-year
championship drought, adding though that whatever incentives in
store for team members and the coaching staff has yet to be
announced.
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