The Sta. Lucia head coach has a more chiseled physique that from afar, he looks more like one of the players than the guy actually shouting instructions.
The irony is the Realtors aren’t as beefy as their coach.
The bad news for Sta. Lucia going into the 2004-2005 season is the state of health of Dennis Espino, who is nagged by the same back problems that he was already suffering last conference and that caused him to miss the All-Star Game.
But Sta. Lucia, already a limping crew the last two conferences, seems ready to live with that.
At least, Kenneth Duremdes will be back. Hampered by an injured calf muscle, Duremdes, according to Chua, is 100 percent fit. "Sa conditioning wala pa, pero he is 100 percent," Chua clarified.
And that means a lot already for a team that was devoid of a versatile player who could create and improvise on offense.
"I did my best na lumaban ‘yung team in times na injured ‘yung ibang starters," Chua said. "If you will remember, the last two conferences wala kaming Kenneth so we’re just trying to squeeze the players to play their best."
With a healthy Duremdes and a fit Gerard Francisco (whose broken wrist on his non-shooting hand has healed), Sta. Lucia gets back a potent 2-3 duo that can match up well with any of the best in the league.
But even with a fit perimeter game, Sta. Lucia still has to worry about its muscle inside.
The absence of Espino and possibly even Marlou Aquino (whose knee is undergoing strength-conditioning therapy) will leave Sta. Lucia looking worse than a donut, if the Twin Towers don’t get back in shape ASAP.
Espino was seventh in the Fiesta Conference in scoring and fourth in rebounding. Aquino was the league’s best in blocked shots.
Imagine then a team that already ranked second to the last in team rebounding without its starting power forward and center?
Since the Realtors already have in their roster three players worth P500,000, salary-cap problems have weighed down Sta. Lucia’s chances of cracking a fourth or fifth explosive type of player who can complement the Big Three of Espino, Aquino and Duremdes.
So Chua is banking on the role players (seven of them with expiring contracts in December) to carry the load once again.
"The second-stringers, kung may mapipilay dapat mag-step up sila," Chua said.
Asked what he thought was the most important lesson he learned from last conference, Chua points to physical conditioning as something he wants his team to emphasize on this year.
The extensive preseason gigs, which include the title-winning campaign in Bahrain early July and a few exhibition games in the provinces, make the Realtors one of the most visible in the tune-up circuit.
And that’s something Chua is cautious of.
"Nakakatakot na ma-injure sila at this time of the year when the season hasn’t started yet," Chua opined. "Tapos pagdating sa conference proper, you won’t be able to use them. You can’t avoid the injuries kaya we should stay in condition right from the start."