As a PBA player from 1993 up to the 2004-05 season, playing for Sta. Lucia, Alaska and Purefoods, Negrense Boyet Fernandez never got to taste a championship.

Thrice, the Valladolid-born player-turned-coach played in the Finals – for Alaska in the 1997 Commissioner's Cup against Gordon's Gin and with Purefoods in the 2000 All-Filipino Cup against Alaska and in the Governors Cup against San Miguel Beer. Each time, his team lost.

As the Realtors' current head coach, he now has a chance to finally win a ring, not just for himself but for a Sta. Lucia team – his first and last team in the PBA as a player.

The Realtors beat favored Alaska Aces, 92-84, in Game 7 of their best-of-7 semifinal last Sunday to advance to their first-ever all-Filipino Finals.

Fernandez, 36, has been the architect of Sta. Lucia's many “firsts” this conference but he consistently refuses to take credit for them and instead points to his players, specially his veterans, as the ones who made things happen.

“I credit this win to my guys specially my veterans who stepped up,” Fernandez said in the post-Game 7 press conference.

“Dennis (Espino) really stepped up in this ballgame. He led this team. It proved that Dennis and Marlou (Aquino) still have what it takes to play in the PBA…. I do appreciate what my players did, they really stepped up… all of them… Ryan (Reyes) made a crucial three pointer, Cap (Espino) got crucial rebounds and everything. Kelly (Williams) and Bitoy ( Omolon ) were always there. Even our bench. I couldn't ask for more from my players, they really gave their best.”

Even losing Alaska coach Tim Cone, despite his misery and frustration with the Game 7 loss, managed to give Fernandez and Sta. Lucia a rare compliment.

“Sta. Lucia deserved it because they really played tough. We're not a team easy to break but they broke us,” Cone said. “And that's an ultimate compliment from our organization because we don't think there's a team in the league which works harder than us.”

With Fernandez, who was elevated to head coach, replacing Alfrancis Chua prior to the start of last season's Fiesta Conference, the Realtors already have a long list of achievements to be proud of this conference.

Sta. Lucia actually started the tournament by losing their first two games, three of their first four and six of their first 10. Then the Realtors went on an incredible eight-game winning streak to end the eliminations, the longest winning run in franchise history.

As a result, Sta. Lucia wound up the eliminations with 12 wins – their most ever in an elimination round – against only six losses, earning a first-ever outright semifinal berth.

Since the league had virtually this same format starting in the 2004-05 season, the Realtors never made it even to the quarterfinals outright prior to this conference and were always eliminated at the latest in the wildcard plays.

That series against Alaska was Sta. Lucia's first-ever best-of-seven semifinal and Sunday's Game 7 was also a first in franchise history. And the Realtors hurdled both to reach this first-ever all-Filipino Finals.

A registered nurse who graduated from the Colegio San Agustin in Bacolod City before deciding to concentrate on basketball, Fernandez thinks another first is coming their way.

“They say this team brought many firsts to Sta. Lucia. We'll try hard, we'll give our best every game, we'll be preparing every game,” said Fernandez, the league's back-to-back three-point shootout contest king while still playing for Purefoods in 2000 and 2001.*www.pba.ph

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