Philippine Sports News and Updates

Sta. Lucia Realty got back at the Darwin All-Stars, 62-59, Saturday night to advance to the final of the seventh Brunei Cup basketball tournament at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex indoor stadium in Berakas, Brunei.

Dennis Espino scored two crucial free throws in the closing seconds, and the Realtors held off the Aussies’ tough challenge, arranging a title showdown with the LG Sakers of Korea.

The Sakers reached the final with an 81-71 victory over the Singapore Slingers.

“The team played four quarters of very aggressive basketball both on defense and offense,” said an ecstatic Sta. Lucia team manager Buddy Encarnado in a text message to The STAR.

Anthony Johnson led all scorers with 21 points but Espino, Marlou Aquino and rookie Ryan Reyes also played important roles.

“Marlou foul-baited Darwin’s 6-foot-11 center making it a lot easier for the team to play under the basket. Reyes proved his worth on his superb orchestration of our plays,” said Encarnado. 

Sta. Lucia led by seven at halftime but the much taller and heftier Darwin team fought back in the second half.

The Realtors were only ahead by one, 60-59, when Espino drew a foul and made two crucial free throws with time down to 5.3 seconds.

Espino canned in both charities and the team put up a good defense, denying the Aussies a decent attempt from the three-point range to the delight of a big Filipino crowd.

It was a sweet revenge for Sta. Lucia which was clobbered by Darwin, 67-82, in their elimination-round match.

The Aussies fight the Singapore Slingers for third place in this tournament topped the last two years by the RP national training team under coach Chot Reyes.

The Realtors have been playing well here despite the absence of Fil-Am workhorse Kelly Williams who requested for a vacation following his stint with the national team in the recent FIBA-Asia championship in Japan.

Source: Philippine Star