Gone was Ansu Sesay but in came Joe Temple and the Realtors remained a pretty solid team as seen in their inspiring win over Todd Bernard and the Phone Pals.
"We’re off to a good start and our experience in the second conference seemed to help us a lot tonight," said Sta. Lucia coach Norman Black.
"Joe Temple had a good start. He’s not a spectacular player but he works hard, and the most important thing is that the players like him," Black added.
Though starting their campaign on a winning note, Black, however, said they have to work on their execution and rebounding if they were to match or improve their runner-up finish to San Miguel Beer in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Against the Phone Pals, the Realtors didn’t really tend the boards and execute their plays well. Mobiline, despite its lack of size, even out-rebounded Sta. Lucia, 48-40.
But the Realtors showed poise and composure although they faced several double-digit deficits in the first half and had to overcome a 35-point game by Bernard.
The Mobiline import showed great touch from the outside, going 15-of-29 from the field and also came up with seven rebounds and one steal in 45 minutes of action.
He sent the crowd on the edge of their seats at the buzzer although his attempt to send the game into overtime from way, way out missed the target.
Temple, meanwhile, logged 31 points, including two charities off a desperation foul by Bernard that made it 80-77 with time down to 3.6 seconds. The veteran Sta. Lucia import also had three rebounds and one assist against one error in a no-relief job.
Marlou Aquino, Dennis Espino and Paolo Mendoza put up their own numbers with the three fuelling a big run down the stretch that had Sta. Lucia taking a 77-70 lead, 1.52 left in the game.