Espino leaving Realtors for Coke

MANILA, Philippines - Six-foot-6 center Dennis Espino, the cornerstone of the Sta. Lucia team for over a decade now, is leaving the Realtors to join the Coca-Cola Tigers in the next few days.

A reliable source said Coca-Cola and Sta. Lucia are now finalizing their transaction for the transfer of Espino to the Tigers camp where he will be reunited with former teammates Kenneth Duremdes, Gerard Francisco and Alex Cabagnot among others.

The same source said Espino had had a meeting with Coca-Cola top official JB Baylon before leaving the country with his wife yesterday for a brief vacation in Spain.

Apparently, the Realtors are having problems with the league salary cap rule since they’ve been unloading key players. On Wednesday, Sta. Lucia dealt Denok Miranda to San Miguel Beer.

Espino, the league’s top draft pick in 1995, has been considered among the finest big men ever to play in the league.

In playing his 15th season with the Realtors in the 2008-09 PBA campaign, the former UST main man moved up to No. 23 overall (with 8,298 points) in the all-time scoring ladder and to No. 15 (with 4,094) in all-time rebounding list at the end of this campaign.

In the course of the season, he got past Bong Hawkins (8238), Rudy Distrito (8074), and Ato Agustin (7979) in scoring and past Alvin Teng (3981) in rebounds.

After playing under the shadows of Jun Limpot in his early years in the pros, Espino took over the baton and has since become the team’s heart and soul.

Espino powered SLR to two championships and twice earned a spot in the league’s Mythical Selection as a Realtor. He’s also made the All-Defensive Team twice and bagged the MVP Finals honors in their 2007-08 Philippine Cup conquest.

At Coca-Cola, he’ll be playing under Duremdes, a former teammate at Sta. Lucia and also with the national team in several international tournaments.

In giving away Espino, SLR is to get a future draft pick. Likely to be added to the mix is Coca-Cola reserve forward Jason Misolas.

At Coca-Cola, Espino will alternate with Asi Taulava at center spot.

The Tigers have been on an aggressive rebuilding process. They have earlier acquired rookie draftees Chris Ross and Francis Allera and veterans Ken Bono, Norman Gonzales and Larry Rodriguez. – Nelson Beltran