SLR takes exit door, falls to RoS
Monday, 25 January 2010 (Viewed 1,148 times)by Josef Ramos
STA. LUCIA Realty took an early exit in the wildcard round after losing to a lucky Rain or Shine squad, 86-90, on Sunday in the 35th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Despite the all-out effort of Kelly Williams, Josh Urbiztondo and Marlou Aquino, the Realtors failed to sustain their late surge capped by Urbiztondo’s successive triples that ended their campaign this conference at eighth.
Kelly Williams came up with a huge 27 points and 18 rebounds to lead Sta. Lucia.
Marlou Aquino, Sta. Lucia’s veteran center, had a big night with 16 points, Joseph Yeo added 12 but starting guard Ryan Reyes managed just four points, going into foul trouble early that kept him on the bench on crucial stretches.
A three-pointer by Mike Hrabak tied the count at 74-74 with 5:59 to play. In the ensuing play, Urbiztondo, who finished with 20 points, knocked another trey to put the Realtors back in front, 18 seconds later.
But the Realtors couldn’t hold on to it, missing their next five attempts from the floor. And the Rain or Shine Elasto Paintmasters cashed in on the opportunity.
Chan’s second three of the night tied the count at 77-77 with 4:39 to go. Then Eddie Laure hit an eight-footer from the left side for a two-point lead before Chan drained his last trey to give his team an 82-77 lead with 3:19 remaining.
Sta. Lucia never recovered from there although it provided a scare in the closing seconds when Urbiztondo made a long three over Mercado to pull the Realtors within 86-88 with 31 seconds left.
Rain or Shine withstood the last threat as Laure hit a floater in the lane over Marlou Aquino to stretch their lead to four with 11 seconds to play.
The Elasto Painters, who won just four games in the elimination compared to 10 by Sta. Lucia, made just 40 percent of its shots in the first half but held the Realtors to a lower 33% to return to their locker room at the break holding on to a 40-34 lead.
Ryan Arana (13 points, five assists) and Mark Telan (nine points, three shot blocks) made their presence felt in the third quarter as the Elasto Painters held off repeated rallies by the Realtors and stayed ahead, 66-62, at the end of the period.
The setback was a painful one for the Realtors, who finished the eliminations just a win shy of a playoff for an outright quarterfinal berth.
It also looked like Sta. Lucia had seized momentum when it opened the fourth with three successive 3-pointers — two from rookie Josh Urbiztondo — and grabbed a 73-69 lead.
But the Elasto Painters were not about to fold up.
It was the first time since the 2008 Fiesta Conference the ninth seed booted out the No. 6-ranked squad in the wildcard plays when ironically it was Sta. Lucia who eliminated Alaska back then.
Individual Scores:
Rain or Shine 90 – Mercado 18, Norwood 15, Chan 14, Arana 13, Telan 9, Reyes 8, Laure 8, Hrabak 3, Cruz 2, Dulay 0, Ibanes 0.
Sta. Lucia 86 – Williams 27, Urbiztondo 20, Aquino 16, Yeo 12, Reyes 4, Omolon 4, Misolas 2, Pacana 1, Daa 0, Espinas 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarter Scores: 20-22, 40-34, 66-62, 90-86
B.Encarnado
Monday, 25 January 2010 at 7:11 am
SLR is having problems both in Center and Point Guard positions… After Marlou there is no one to fill in for him, same goes with Josh. Mendoza is not helping the team anymore, maybe he should retire or move to the coaching staff. If Topex Robinson is still available, maybe SLR can hire him to help them sustain the energy given by J-urb. Bitoy is not playing his usual game I wonder why? He can be a good trade bait, even for a small time player like Ronnie Matias, small name, big time player nmn.
dino
Monday, 25 January 2010 at 12:32 pm
and so is espinas who i think for the past 3 games or more showed nothing like kahapon 0 points cya na inaasahan natin tlga to score down low and to rebound.I think 1st round lang cya naging effective.Bitoy wasnt playing that bad it just happend that kelly was playing superb same position sila kasi.Lets trade espinas and get a center in return a legit center.
cristina
Monday, 25 January 2010 at 4:50 pm
SLR team,
ok lang poh yan alm nming mga fans nah ginawa nio ung best nio ndi lang talaga pinalad….goodluck nlang poh nxt conference,,kh8 talo na FAN nio pdin aqo..
cristina
PROUD TO BE SLR FAN
rapsapapa
Monday, 25 January 2010 at 5:01 pm
We need a revamp on SLR LINEUP
rapsapapa
Monday, 25 January 2010 at 5:04 pm
With this kind of lineup next import conference. Our team will go nowhere else but sa kankungan na naman
rapsapapa
Monday, 25 January 2010 at 5:08 pm
With the SLR early exit, who do you think fellow believers is to blame for this?
dino
Monday, 25 January 2010 at 7:44 pm
rapsapapa tingin ko coaching staff iyong budget nmn hindi natin pwede gawin katwiran kasi nwala na 2 dennis db na mllki ang contract nila.Tapos pinapirma c pacana,larong,daa,benitez,waters,misolas,delrosario,mendoza cge lets spare marlou na nga.We should have gotten the services of topex,se,cabatu na hindi nag kklayo ang sweldo or parehas lang din sa tingin ko.The team should let this players go if not magiging laughing stock nnmn tayo imagine 10 wins tayo this all pinoy tapos ang naka pasok pa coke at ros na tig 5 lng panalo.
dino
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 at 12:18 pm
agree ako sa sinabi mo leo bat-og coach boyet mas ok pa kung maging asst.coach kasi sa totoo lang kaya nag champion ang team dati its because of the players sorry to say dinala lng cya ng buong team kaya akala ng iba magaling cya.Di cya marunong mag motivate ng players at most of all wala cya tiwala sa mga bagito di tulad ni coach yeng look what he have did to cyrus baguio,sharma,celino cruz,matias,belga,topex,junthy,lordy at marami pa db out of nothing pero ngayon nasaan cla.Imagine for three years na hawak ni coach boyet ni isang player wala tumagal sa team na rookies after their contract wala na mamaclay,butel,coronel.Di ako mag ttka susunod dyan si gregorio,jaime at iba pa.Tapos sa drafting puro wrong decisions ang ginawa paano kmi bibilib sa iyo?
GIGOLO
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 at 8:58 pm
@ dino..brad pano nman makaka contribute c espinas eh d naman pinapasok ni CB syang humina tyo sa rebounding dhil kay aquino na babad din sa laro swerte na maka 5 rebounds to kaya tyo natalo nung crucial kc pagod na c williams at wla nng makatulong sa rebound dhil kay aquino dmi offensive ng ROS nung crucial at dikit pa ung laban dhil d maganda pag rotate s player..ang laki binaba ng laro ni espinas dhil nga binabanko na ni Cb nagtataka nga ako dhil ang ganda ng pnakita nya tapos nagka slight injury lng to eh nawala na plying time nya tsk tsk..mas binabad pa nga c misolas at aquino..brad bgo ka mag comment about espinas tingnan mo muna playing time nya at attempt para malaman kung bkit sya d naging effective db? isa nga ako sa na frustrate sa gnawa kay espinas at gaya ng cnbi ko mahihirapan tyo manalo kung wlang tulong ni espinas sa loob kc dala nya din ang opensa at rebounding pag nasa loob sya..
dino
Thursday, 28 January 2010 at 7:20 pm
@gigolo brad alm mo ba bkit di na ginagamit c espinas brad kasi may attitude problem brad.Kung ikw ba ang coach tapos mkikita mo na may attitude problem uunahin mo muna ba ipasok kesa sa mga nag sisipag brad?
tamulmol
Saturday, 30 January 2010 at 7:46 am
Sana marealize ni BOYET FERNANDEZ ang mali nya as a COACH, sana maisip ng SLR (nagtitipid daw) na mas gumagastos lng sila sa players na hindi nmn nadedevelop at hindi nmn nakakapaglaro. Sayang si WATERS, siguro nmn may skills yun kahit paano… I remember ROB DUAT, from bench player of SMB, biglang gumaling at kinuha pa ni TIM CONE. Paano kasi gagaling ang player kung hindi ginagamit, kung hindi binibigyan ng kompiyansa? Yung COACHING STYLE kasi ni BOYET pang NBA LIVE lng eh, yung bang tipong 5mins every quarter lang, BOYET you have 12 players not 7 or 8… SLR is paying them even if they don’t play, OK LNG KUNG NO PLAY NO PAY ok lng na mabangko yung iba, pero hingi nmn ganun eh. You better clean up you cloudy mind, and mataas na PRIDE. You can’t win another championship BOYET… STEP DOWN.
tamulmol
Saturday, 30 January 2010 at 7:49 am
Sana marealize ni BOYET FERNANDEZ ang mali nya as a COACH, sana maisip ng SLR (nagtitipid daw) na mas gumagastos lng sila sa players na hindi nmn nadedevelop at hindi nmn nakakapaglaro. Sayang si WATERS, siguro nmn may skills yun kahit paano… I remember ROB DUAT, from bench player of SMB, biglang gumaling at kinuha pa ni TIM CONE. Paano kasi gagaling ang player kung hindi ginagamit, kung hindi binibigyan ng kompiyansa? Yung COACHING STYLE kasi ni BOYET pang NBA LIVE lng eh, yung bang tipong 5mins every quarter lang, BOYET you have 12 players not 7 or 8… SLR is paying them even if they don’t play, OK LNG KUNG NO PLAY NO PAY ok lng na mabangko yung iba, pero hingi nmn ganun eh. You better clean up you cloudy mind, and mataas na PRIDE. You can’t win another championship BOYET… STEP DOWN…..
rapsapapa
Monday, 1 February 2010 at 12:47 pm
WHAT NOW ?
After being eliminated from contention in the on-going PBA 2009 Philippine Cup, what is the next move of the Sta. Lucia Realtors?
Definitely the management will be busy this early in scouting for a more dynamic (Anthony Johnson) and less volatile (Lee Benson) import to fortify their lean frontline, but what else is expected from the team?
Multiple fan sources are requesting the management to be effectively involved in the bidding and acquisition of another big man to replace the slot vacated by the departure of Dennis Espino since it was clear as daylight that Gabby Espinas was more of a power-forward than a center and Kelly Williams is more effective coming from the wings to the shaded lane.
However, there are questions for the SLR to answer before these thing can materialize: Would they be willing to part with the personnel – including possibly Nelbert ‘Bitoy’ Omolon – to make a deal happen?
Do the Realtors have the resources to sign any quality bigman that could swell their payroll, such as Jay-R Reyes or Samigue Iman?
Do they even believe that there are some untapped talents in the league waiting for a chance to become the big difference for the team?
All questions with no clear answers for the Realtors – yet.
Nevertheless, the possibility of an athletic, offensive force has become too irresistible to easily dismiss. The Realtors were given two chances to advance into the quarterfinals, but in both games they blew it big because Marlou Aquino is not consistent enough and some of their guards were simply outplayed by their counterparts.
The import-laden conference may be months away, but there should be a sense of urgency at the head office. The Realtors need a young, athletic frontcourt complement for an aging Aquino. Despite taking a significant payroll cut by acquiring cheaper players (Jason Misolas and Chris Pacana) from the other teams, it’s become clearer to the Realtors that their frontline is still ill-equipped to overthrow the likes of the San Miguel Beermen, Talk N’ Text Phone Pals and Alaska Aces.
Coach Boyet Fernandez seemed to have maintained an interest in Barako Bull’s Leo Najorda and Ginebra’s reserve player, Homer Se. However, the management has yet to show a strong inclination to acquire these players before the next conference.
As painful as it would be for the franchise and fans, the Realtors could try to part with Omolon and his expiring contract to make a package work. What about burgeoning young center Rob Reyes?
Many league executives wonder, too: Would the Realtors be adverse to trading Omolon to a team they most often encounter at the bottom half of the standings? Perhaps, but they should understand that the market for Omolon is somewhat limited because so many teams already have resident personnel in the same position. But maybe the offer could become more palatable if they include Pacana, Paolo Mendoza, Ardy Larong and Charles Waters in the mix.
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mackoy
Thursday, 4 February 2010 at 8:42 am
bakit di subukan at bigyan ng break yun MARK BENITEZ? He is very effective during his college days in La Salle…
Ka Roger
Saturday, 6 February 2010 at 3:10 am
I have followed the Realtors since 1993, and suffered through a lot of conferences. This time, I am again very sad, but I get some encouragement from the comments posted by the other fans. Thank you, my fellow SLR enthusiasts!
I have also been reading about Coach Boyet since 1989, when he won a title in a special tournament of the then-PABL. He was playing for the Negros team. When he retired as a player, he had only one ring (and he did not even play in that series — he was on loan to the national team). Then he took over a very underperforming SLR squad and won the Philippine Cup. At that time, Tim Cone said: SLR is winning because Boyet has taught them to play in his image. Today, Coach Boyet faces tough criticism, but I would like to give him some moral support. He has shown an ability to bounce back.