Realtors tired of losing, put act together

After Sta. Lucia Realty lost to FedEx last Wednesday, skipper Dennis Espino, probably getting tired of losing, took his teammates out for dinner and a long talk.

And it proved beneficial as the Realtors put things back in order last night, beating the Shell Turbo Chargers, 100-92, in a battle of injury-plagued teams in the Grand Matador PBA Fiesta Conference at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Living up to his reputation as an explosive scorer, Derrick Brown sizzled with a game-high 33 points, including eight in a fourth-quarter run that stopped Shell’s comeback bid.

But it was the locals, led by Sta. Lucia’s twin towers of Espino and Marlou Aquino, who spelled the difference as they provided Brown, the league’s leading scorer with an average of 44 points going into this game, the much-needed lift, and power the Realtors to only their second win in nine outings.

"It really helped when Dennis (Espino), after we lost to FedEx, took out the whole team for a long talk. Parang nagising bigla ang mga players ko," Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua said.

"I guess my players realized how poorly we played against FedEx the last time out," added Chua. "The locals stepped up today, of course, with special mention to Dennis (Espino) and Marlou (Aquino)."

Meanwhile, the PBA finally gave Joe Lipa the green light to coach for FedEx (starting today against Alaska) but subject to several conditions. One condition is that Lipa should leave the Express bench if his tenure as coach of the 20-and-under national team is extended after the Southeast Asian Basketball Association (SEABA) tournament this September.

"It is with great pride to welcome him (Lipa) back, a great coaching mind," said commissioner Noli Eala in an emergency press briefing last night.

Eala said the Lipa’s case should not be used as precedent in future instances. Eala’s clarification came amid rumors that the PBA would not allow Lipa to coach FedEx due to an old league rule that prevents a coach from calling the shots for other teams outside the PBA.

In the other game, Mark Sanford scored six of his team’s last eight points as Coca-Cola trounced Red Bull Barako, 107-102, to join its latest victim, Alaska Milk, and Talk N’ Text in a share for second spot on 5-3 slates behind unbeaten San Miguel Beer (8-0).

Shell’s played minus Chris Calaguio, Ronald Tubid, and Kalani Ferreria. Calaguio, Shell’s leading local scorer, and Tubid, who averaged 18 points in the last three games, both suffered sprained ankles in a 102-98 triumph over Ginebra, while Ferreria’s hurt his left leg in the second quarter.

It was the Turbochargers’ sixth loss against three wins and Leo Austria’s first since he placed American John Moran as coach last week.

Out to recover from the 86-97 setback to the Express last Wednesday, Espino and Aquino dominated the shaded area by combining for 35 points, 20 rebounds, seven assists, three blocks and a steal in a solid effort that more than made up for the absence of injured teammates Kenneth Duremdes and Paolo Mendoza.

Duremdes is out due to calf injury while Mendoza sat out the whole game due to a sprained left ankle.

Shell actually led in the first few minutes of the game when Marek Ondera’s foul shot gave it an 11-8 edge, a lead Sta. Lucia wiped out with a series of runs bridging the first, second and third quarters and giving the Realtors a lead as big as 24 points, the last at 69-45.

Ondera, Tony dela Cruz and Mike Hrabak, who finished the game with a combined output of 63 points, slowly but surely led a spirited comeback that saw the Turbo Chargers close in at 72-81 before Brown stepped in to deliver the crushing blows.