Alta Vista captures Sta. Lucia title pulling away

Club unity proved to be the underlying factor in Alta Vista’s domination of the 2002 Sta. Lucia Tour as the Cebuanos had such a big and potent lineup that the overall championship was already in the bag even before the final leg was played recently.

Not just that the Alta Vistans made up almost one third of the 240-player roster, they also had all the best players in the class who made sure the Sta. Lucia Cup - symbol of supremacy in the country’s only series for clubs operating under one umbrella - was flown to Cebu by the time the season was over.

Alta Vista completed the demolition job with a huge 32-point margin over Orchard, 102-70, and the winning difference could have been a lot bigger if not for a late charge by the Dasmariñas, Cavite club in the third stage it hosted together with Eagle Ridge.

Eagle Ridge’s three-peat bid ended too early and their third place finish at 63 points was made possible by the sweep pulled off by their Group III team. Palos Verdes picked up one Group I win at home to place fourth with 59 points and Royale Tagaytay was shut out and wound up at the cellar with just 39.

"The unity and cooperation shown by the members of the club made things happen for us in the series. Everybody just wanted to contribute for us to bring the Cup home," said James Balagtas, general manager of Alta Vista.

Two Alta Vista teams went home with the series titles with Ramontito Garcia, Carl Almario, Dennis Canoy and Edito Tirol romping off with the Group I crown and Felix Villanueva, Danilo Ledesma, Eduardo Manzano and Jufil Sato running away with the Group II plum.

Saving the pride of the erstwhile defending champion Eagle Ridge delegation is their Group III team 5 (Jose Bustos Nepomuceno, Joel Agbanlog, Benito Oblena and Min Kyung Hun) and team 6 (Meinrado Apuya, Danilo Olanosa, Placido Galias and Roberto Sena, which posted a 1-2 finish.

Garcia likewise took home the Class A crown in the individual category. He was joined in the roster by Shinichi Ogihara of Eagle Ridge in Class B, Avelino Sta. Maria of Royale Tagaytay in Class C and Lian Agustin Chua Ang of Orchard in Class D.