He savors title ‘made in heaven’

For Sta. Lucia team owner Excy Robles, their recent Smart PBA Philippine Cup title conquest was made in heaven.

Robles stressed they won it fair and square, and he’s hardly affected by whatever color some people were trying to paint on their championship.

Somehow, he’s thankful there was this controversy, believing this perked up fans’ interest making the Sta. Lucia-Purefoods title showdown a monster hit.

“It seemed the fans had become more interested in the series because of the controversy. The fans showed so much passion watching the games. It’s good for the league,” said Robles in Filipino in a rare conversation with the PBA beat reporters.

Robles paid no attention to the controversy, saying it’s a non-issue to him.

Purefoods officials questioned the propriety of league commissioner Sonny Barrios and the Sta. Lucia team owner meeting in a posh Mandaluyong hotel hours before the league top honcho made his verdict on James Yap’s case.

Barrios later meted Yap a one-game suspension plus a fine of P20,000 after upgrading the player’s infraction from a flagrant foul penalty 1 to penalty 2. The commissioner was severely criticized for his move.

“I wasn’t affected at all because I wasn’t guilty of anything. We saw a problem in the officiating and where should we course our questions?” said Robles.

“It was a short meeting and I was just practically saying the championship should be decided by the players and not by the referees,” Robles added.

“I also play the game. I know that the referees are human. They’re not perfect. But if all the calls are going against you, then we have a problem,” said Robles, who came into the meeting upset with the officiating in Game Three.

Robles, however, said it’s all over and he wants just to savor the championship – the team’s first in seven years and second since joining the league in 1993.

His eyes lit up when told no team has yet to win back-to-back All-Filipino championships in 23 years.

“We have our ambition. It’s up to the players to work hard for it,” he said. – Nelson Beltran