BY NOLI CORTEZ

BRIDGING the gap from believing to realizing takes one giant leap and Sta. Lucia Realty proved up to the task.

By beating the favored Purefoods Giants 100-88 in their winner-take-all match last Sunday, the Realtors copped the Smart PBA Philippine Cup title and completed their transformation from a so-so team to a force to be reckoned with.

The 4-3 victory in the best-of-seven championship series, fashioned before a record 18,167 paying fans who packed the Araneta Coliseum, gave Sta. Lucia its first All-Filipino crown and only the franchise’s second since joining the league in 1993.

It was also a fitting cap to a season-opening campaign that listlessly got off and established many franchise firsts.

It all started, team officials said, with the team’s belief they could pull it off. To stress the point, Sta. Lucia players, staff and supporters all wore T-shirts that bore the word "Believe" in capital letters.

"A lot of people said it was sheer luck, but I knew from the start of this conference that my team is truly up to something," said Buddy Encarnado, the bemoustached team representative to the PBA Board.

"That’s why when people asked me what our chances are in this championship (series), I was so confident. I kept telling my players and coaching staff that if we do not believe ourselves then nobody will believe in us."

Believing was just part of the whole thing.

Trades made last year and in the off-season netted Sta. Lucia such players as Dennis Miranda and Joseph Yeo and competed the whole package that coach Boyet Fernandez and Encarnado had wanted: A defensive, running team.

"We needed players who have the stamina and the natural talent for running. ‘Yung go-go basketball," explained Encarnado.

And then there was the pre-season, almost month-long stint in a basketball camp in Boston, which worked wonders not only in developing chemistry within the team but also in the players’ conditioning as well.

"That’s why in endgames, our players still had the extra push. Our opponents usually ran out of wind, but my players were still raring to put their feet on the pedal, so to speak," said Encarnado.

The teams’ true mettle, he also pointed out, came to the fore not when they went on a franchise-best eight-game roll to offset a 0-2 start, nor when they made it to the semifinals outright, also a new milestone for the team.

"When we advanced outright to the semis, a lot people commented we would not last against Alaska. They were probably right," said Encarnado.

"Alaska is methodical, disciplined and has good character. Looking back, it was probably the Alaska series being stretched to seven games that probably gave our players so much poise and confidence. For anybody to beat Alaska in seven games… truly they must be having that kind of confidence."

There was also the maturity and none typified it more than team captain Dennis Espino, who had been tabbed as the team’s cornerstone since being picked first in the 1995 draft. He was there with Marlou Aquino and Paolo Mendoza when the team won the 2001 Governors Cup.

Often overshadowed by Kelly Williams’ usual double-double performance, Espino shone when it mattered most by scoring a game-high 29 points in the decisive match, 22 in the second half and 10 in the fourth when the team surged ahead for good from a 79-80 deficit.

"‘Cap’ proved he is really the captain of this team," said Fernandez, who had never won a title before as a player in 1993 to 2005. He is now part of league folklore since the tournament was only his second conference as coach of the team.

Purefoods also went through a grueling seven-game semis against Red Bull, with Bulls coach Yeng Guiao commenting fatigue will ultimately catch up with Giants stars James Yap and Kerby Raymundo because they had to play "too hard for too long."

That was seemingly apparent in the game that, had they won, would have tied them with the fabled Crispa Redmanizers for the league record of five All Filipino crowns.

Yap did finish with 21 points in 40 minutes, but he went only 7-of-22 from the field and his three triples came in the fourth quarter when all was lost.

Raymundo had 11 points and 10 rebounds in 41 minutes but went scoreless in the decisive fourth.

With their established stars shackled, the rest of the Giants tried to step up but only Peter June Simon was able to rise to the occasion with a team-high 27 points off the bench.

The season-ending Fiesta Cup formally starts March 30 and Sta. Lucia, now tipped as among the favorites, has to step up its search for a suitable import.

Fernandez, Encarnado and the rest of the team will deal with that concern when the time comes. For now, they just want to squeeze the championship feeling dry.