Pro league to tackle sale of Sta. Lucia

(From Manila Standard)   

PHILIPPINE Basketball Association Chairman Rene Pardo said the sale of the Sta. Lucia Realty franchise to Meralco is likely to be formalized during the board of governors’ meeting on Aug. 10.

Pardo said it was sad to see the departure of former chairman and Sta. Lucia Realty governor Buddy Encarnado, who has been associated with the PBA for the past 18 years.

After months of speculation, the deal was finalized last Friday with the payment of the final installment by Meralco. The approval of the PBA board is likely to be a mere formality.

However, there was some good news for the PBA concerning another troubled franchise – Barako Bull, whose board representative lawyer Manny Mendoza informed the board that they plan to participate in the coming 2010-2011 season.

“We asked them outright what their plans were because it would be difficult if they suddenly leave,” said Pardo.

However, he disclosed that Commissioner Sonny Barrios had spoken to Barako Bull team owner George Chua and he had signified their intention to participate.

Pardo pointed out that the co-branding plan, which the PBA is formalizing, “would allow teams to accept a subsidiary or a non-competitive company,” which would be allowed to use their logo on the playing jerseys and help the team financially in exchange for the exposure.

The chairman said it was done in the on-going conference on an experimental basis, with Harbour Center of Mikee Romero teaming up with Barako Bull.

Barako assures PBA participation; SLR's fate uncertain

(From GMA News)

What's the future in store for Barako Energy Coffee and Sta. Lucia Realty?

The Photokina franchise said that it will continue participating in the Philippine Basketball Association's (PBA) 36th season while Sta. Lucia's fate remains uncertain.

Newly-installed PBA chairman Rene Pardo of B-Meg Derby Ace told GMANews.TV in a telephone interview that Barako management assured the board that it would field a team when the first conference opens later this year.

"I was informed that they will continue participating in the PBA," said Pardo. "But I told them that it will need board approval as well and we want to make sure how long can they commit."

Barako Coffee coach Junel Baculi also assured of the team’s participation next season.

"I was given directives by the management headed by boss George Chua. He told me what direction we would like to take next season and that we want to form up a more competitive team," said Baculi, who is also National University's athletic director.

Whether the board will approve or not Barako's continuous participation remains to be seen, but the PBA’s main thrust in the coming season is to generate better gate receipts and a much-improved marketing program.

"People would want to see games played at a more competitive level and they want to see competitive teams. If we have competing teams with inferior line up and not winning games, it will definitely hurt the league's attendance," added Pardo.

Barako Coffee is one team affected by the economic pinch. The team has had financial difficulties, trading their marquee players and some members of the squad reportedly encountered delays in the payment of their salaries.

Before the start of the Fiesta Cup, Barako Coffee entered a co-branding agreement with Harbour Centre, but the two companies reportedly had a "falling out", according to a source privy of the matter.

"As far as I know, Harbour and Barako had to cut short their initial agreement because of misunderstanding," said the source, who requested anonymity.

Harbour Centre team manager Erick Arejola said that the two companies had an agreement regarding the co-branding, but not the sale of the franchise.

"We came as a sponsor," said Arejola. "It was offered to us, and we agreed. It's for the Fiesta Cup only. But we've never discussed the sale of the franchise. So far, our main objective now is the coming Asean Basketball League."

As for Sta. Lucia, its participation remains up in the air and a PBA insider said that the team has sent notice of its intent of "taking a leave or non-participation starting next season."

"Of course, the next step there is probably the announcement of sale of its franchise to another company," said the source.

Asked for comments regarding the matter, Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez was advised by team manager Buddy Encarnado to "wait for the team meeting."

"So far, we're still on vacation and we're waiting for the meeting with boss Buddy," said Fernandez.

GMANews.TV tried to get Encarnado's side but calls were not answered.

Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has expressed its desire of returning to the PBA, but whether it will take over Sta. Lucia's franchise or come in as an expansion squad hasn't been made official yet.

TIGERS KEEP QF BID ALIVE

(From PBA)

The Coca-Cola Tigers remained on the prowl.

The Tigers roared on, making it three in a row with John Williamson in tow to stay in the running for an outright quarterfinals berth.

Coke finished strong in the second quarter and sustained the heat in the final half for a pivotal 87-76 win over Sta. Lucia Realty in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

Williamson and company stayed in equal footing with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 8-9, both having a chance at catching up with the Barangay Ginebra Kings (9-9)at fifth place at the close of the double-round elimination phase.

Coca-Cola and Rain or Shine clash in a virtual playoff match Sunday also at the Big Dome.

The winner forces a playoff with the Kings for the last automatic slot in the quarters while the loser settles for a spot in the wildcard plays.

“We’ve got a crack at an outright quarters slot on a three-game romp. It would be meaningless if we bungle our game Sunday,” said Coca-Cola coach Bo Perasol.

“Rain or Shine will surely be there fighting so it’s gonna be a battle. We’ll be there going for it,” Perasol added.

Coke’s “Big Four” of Williamson, Gary David, Asi Taulava and Dennis Espino all delivered huge numbers as the Tigers got the key win following an equally important victory by the Elasto Painters earlier in the day.

Victories by both Coca-Cola and Rain or Shine denied Ginebra outright entry into the quarters.

David put in a game-high 22 points with Williamson adding 20 points, Taulava 17 and Espino 16.

The Tigers had a so-so start but picked up their game towards the end of the first half and kept on going in the final 24 minutes of play.

Coca-Coca, which trailed by as many as 10 early on, took the half at 41-35 on a strong closing run capped by back-to-back baskets by Espino.

The Tigers stretched their lead to 14, 64-50, at the end of the third and did a good job holding on to the finish. (SB)

The scores:

Coca-Cola 87 - David 22, Williamson 20, Taulava 17, Espino 16, Cruz 5, Macapagal 3, Gonzales 2, Lanete 2, Allera 0, Bono 0, Rizada 0, Calimag 0, Mendoza 0.

Sta. Lucia 76 - Johnson 21, Escobal 14, Menor 12, Peek 10, Custodio 9, Aljamal 6, Ross 4, Urbiztondo 0, Espinas 0, Omolon 0, Misolas 0, Aquino 0.

Quarters: 17-25, 41-35, 64-50, 87-76

ALASKA SURVIVES SLR’S 3-POINT BOMBS, KEEPS OUTRIGHT SEMIS BID ALIVE

(From PBA)

ALASKA survived an early bombardment from Sta. Lucia Realty to come out a 103-95 victor Sunday and keep alive its hopes of making it outright to the semifinals of the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces remained poised despite the Realtors’ early surge to a 20-point lead, rallying behind Cyrus Baguio before having Diamon Simpson lead them home.

“We were shellshocked by the bombs they threw at us in the first quarter and a half,” admitted Aces coach Tim Cone, whose wards were barraged by 11 three-pointers by the Realtors in the first half alone. “It was like shock and awe out there. We couldn’t run for cover fast enough.

“But we told out players to keep playing beyond it, keep working, and hopefully some of their shots won’t fall in.”

Baguio sparkled in the second quarter, where he scattered 15 of his 23 points to bring the Aces back from 28-48 down to within 51-54 at halftime, before Simpson took over and eventually finished with a game-high 32 points on top of 10 rebounds.

“Parang ang nasa isip ko na lang gumawa ng paraan dahil malaki na ang lamang,” said Baguio, who made all his three attempts in the second period.

“Nu’ng pumasok ang mga tres ko, parang nagkakumpiyansa na ituloy-tuloy na,” he added.

The win was Alaska’s 11th in 17 games, putting it just half a game behind B-Meg Derby Ace, idle with an 11-5 slate.  The Aces can figure in a playoff for the outright semis berth should they win their last game against 12-5 San Miguel Beer and the Llamados drop one of their two remaining games.

Cone pointed out some of the scenarios happening are simply out of their hands and they could be content with their current automatic quarterfinals seat. “We can control how we play San Miguel, but we can’t control Derby Ace,” he said.

“We know it’s not all in our control, so our goal is to get the best scene we can and go from there, whether it be at third or fourth.”

Sta. Lucia dropped to a 5-12 card, its hopes of making the wildcard now hinging on winning its last game in the eliminations against Coca-Cola next week since both Air21 and Barako Energy Coffee, toting similar 3-13 records, can still catch the Realtors.

Anthony Johnson finished with a team-high 26 points an game-high 12 rebounds. But he had four of his six turnovers in the payoff period that helped fuel Alaska’s homeward surge.

The way SLR wound up its shooting from beyond the arc was vastly different from how it started the game and helped its downfall as it got beaten in both points in the paint (54-30), fastbreak points (25-8) and rebounds (48-39).

The Realtors made all but four of their first 15 triple tries before missing all but four of their last 13 attempts. (NC)

The scores:

Alaska 103 - Simpson 32, Baguio 23, De Vance 15, Hugnatan 11, Tenorio 6, Eman 5, Thoss 4, Dela Cruz 4, Cariaso 3, Burtscher 0.

Sta. Lucia 95 - Johnson 26, Urbiztondo 20, Peek 14, Menor 13, Escobal 6, Aljamal 6, Omolon 6, Ross 2, Custodio 2, Espinas 0, Aquino 0.

Quarterscores: 20-27, 51-54, 81-80, 103-95

REALTORS END LOSING SKEIN, GAIN PLAYOFF CRACK AT WILDCARD

(From PBA)

Sta. Lucia’s long, lonely losing spell in the post-Kelly Williams era is finally over.

The Realtors scored their very first win after trading away Williams and Ryan Reyes as they drubbed the Air21 Express, 113-91, Friday night in the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Ali Peek, Yousif Aljamal and Pong Escobal, three of five players Sta. Lucia acquired in exchange for Williams, Reyes and Charles Waters, had their contributions as the Realtors checked a six-game slump and, in the process, assured themselves of a playoff for a slot in the wildcard plays.

The Realtors avoided tying the franchise's worst losing streak which they suffered at the start of the 1993 Commissioner's Cup.

They had lost their last six games by an average margin of 8.3 points -- a sorry skid happening after the departure of Williams and Reyes.

Peek collected 12 points, five rebounds and one block, Aljamal logged 11 points, three rebounds and one block while Escobal got eight points, two assists and one rebound to help SLR notch a fifth win in 16 games.

The Realtors secured a spot in the wildcards with one more win or one loss by either the Express (3-13) or the Barako Energy Coffee Masters (3-13).

SLR has Alaska Milk and Coca-Cola as last two assignments in the double-round-robin elimination phase.

“It’s been a while and I’m very happy for the boys with this win. Finally, we showed we can win,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez.

“It’s really hard to look at the team without Kelly and Ryan. After the trade, the next six games were really tough,” Fernandez added.

“Those six games were learning experience for us. We tried to find a solution, we made adjustments and I’m happy we finally won again.”

Returning from the halftime huddle smoking, the Realtors cut loose from a tight battle in the third quarter and roared on all the way to the finish.

LeRoy Hickerson, Air21’s prized find, had another explosive job with 37 points and 19 rebounds despite a hurting back but it was not enough to save the team from reeling back to the cellar.

The Realtors torched Hickerson and his teammates with a 72.2-percent shooting in the third quarter as they opened a 21-point spread which they stretched to as many as 33 in the final period.

Sta. Lucia finished with a 55-percent clip – the best for the franchise in the conference and second-highest overall -- as against Air21’s 36-percent shooting.

The Express, led by rookie Ramsey Williams career-high 10 points which he all scored in the first period, actually came out strong, fighting the Realtors through three deadlocks and 10 lead changes before their third-quarter meltdown.

They floundered with a 7-of-25 shooting in the third and failed to recover.

Anthony Johnson sizzled with 14 points in the third quarter and finished with 28 that went with eight rebounds, three blocks, one assist and one steal.

The prolific SLR import made a then career-high-tying 43 points as the Realtors outlasted the Express, 106-98, in overtime in their first encounter, a record he erased with a 45 in their previous game against Barako Coffee last Sunday which they lost 103-100.

“I’m very happy with this win which I hope change our outlook. Wildcard plays would be very tough but at least it gives you the chance to make the quarters,” said Fernandez.

“Actually, we’re not yet looking at the wildcard. At this point, we want just to see our weaknesses and strong points,” Fernandez added. (SB)

The scores:

Sta. Lucia 113 - Johnson 28, Peek 12,Aljamal 11, Ross 9, Urbiztondo 8,Escobal 8, Belano 8, Menor 7, Espinas 7, Omolon 6, Daa 5, Misolas 4.

Air21 91 - Hickerson 37, Buenafe 18,Williams 10, Sharma 10, Arboleda6, Ritualo 5, Matias 3, Belga 2, Rodriguez 0,Alvarez 0, Gonzales 0, Mamaril 0, Billones 0.

Quarterscores: 25-24, 52-49, 88-67, 113-91

BARAKO COFFEE REPEATS OVER STA. LUCIA TO END STREAK, STAY ALIVE

(From PBA)

THERE'S still life for Barako Energy Coffee.

The Energy Coffee Masters came up with the needed defensive stops in the endgame to emerge a 103-100 winner over the struggling Sta. Lucia Realtors Sunday and keep alive their hopes of making the wildcard round of the PBA Fiesta Conference at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Sammy Monroe finished with a personal conference-high 41 points, which may slightly pale to Anthony Johnson's own PBA career-high 45. But the former had one of the two blocks Barako Coffee pulled off inside the last minute that enabled it to notch the much-needed win.

Rob Reyes accounted for the other swat and Paolo Hubalde drew a crucial charge, before the entire Barako team played lock-down defense in the last 25 seconds that prevented SLR from overcoming a 102-100 edge on Aris Dimaunahan's three-point play.

After the game, five wins are needed to tie for ninth place and the last wildcard berth and the Coffee Masters hope to improve on their current 3-13 win-loss slate when they wind up their elimination round assignments against Talk N Text and B-Meg Derby Ace.

“As of now, short-term goals lang kami,” said Barako coach Junel Baculi. “Our last two games are very, very tough opponents but let's see what we can do.”

The loss was Sta. Lucia's sixth straight, keeping it at eighth with a 4-11 slate and in danger of figuring in a possible playoff for a wildcard spot, with games against Air21, Alaska and Coca-Cola coming up.

The hope, however, remains positively there for the team that now trails ninth-running Air21 (3-12) by just half a game.

“We need to win those games. Pero kahit mukhang mahirap we will be there trying,” said Baculi. “”We'll just try and keep the game close and see what happens.”

Johnson added 15 rebounds, but his efforts started getting flushed when his bid to add on to SLR's 100-99 lead through a two-handed dunk was foiled by Reyes.

Reed Juntilla muffed a lean-in jumper, but SLR's Ogie Menor shrugged off discretion and, instead of waiting for his teammates and set up a play, went for a drive that was foiled by Monroe, leading to Dimaunahan's go-ahead drive and charity off Pong Escobal.

Monroe's own free throw following Gabby Espinas' charge made it a three-point game that stood after the Coffee Masters' team defense prevented the Realtors from making anything out of two inbound plays inside the last 4.3 seconds, even turning the ball over in the last four-tenths of a second.

Local support proved to be a very major factor, notably Mark Isip, who doubled his conference high with a season-best 22 points, including eight in the final period that helped Barako overcome a 93-99 deficit in the last 3:29 of play.

“I'm always challenging them. Me ibubuga sila,” maintained Baculi. “It’s just a matter of giving them confidence, showing them how to deliver at crunchtime. They're responding now.”

Menor and Paul Escobal each had at least 10 points while Nic Belasco had 14 rebounds and Espinas wound up with six of his seven boards off the offensive glass in the second half that helped SLR overcome a 44-57 third quarter deficit.

But when it came to the crunch, the Realtors locals unabashedly kept looking for Johnson that proved the most successful when he went 5-of-5 from beyond the arc and powered the team to a 77-74 lead going into the final 12 minutes. (NC)

The scores:

Barako Coffee 103 - Monroe 41, Isip 22, Juntilla 11, Dimaunahan 8, Hubalde 7, Gaco 4, Reyes 4, Vergara 2, Alonzo 2, Coronel 2, Najorda 0.

Sta. Lucia 100 - Johnson 45, Menor 12, Escobal 10, Urbiztondo 8, Espinas 8, Custodio 5, Misolas 4, Belasco 3, Omolon 2, Peek 2, Daa 1, Ross 0, Aquino 0.

Quarterscores: 25-21, 52-44, 74-77, 103-100