Championship

Before the 2000 season, Limpot was traded to the Barangay Ginebra Kings for Marlou Aquino, to solidify the big man position of the team. Former grand slam winning coach Norman Black took over as Sta. Lucia's new coach. They also had the No. 1 pick in the draft and took University of the Philippines guard Paolo Mendoza. The Realtors made it only to the quarterfinals of the All-Filipino Cup.

In the Commissioner's Cup, Ansu Sesay was Sta. Lucia's import and the Realtors surprised everyone in this tournament. After placing second in the eliminations, they made it to the championship series for the first time in franchise history, only to lose to the talented San Miguel Beermen in five games. Sesay was named as Best Import of the said tournament.

With Joe Temple as import for the Governor's Cup, the Realtors did not make it past the quarterfinals. The same results can be said in the 2001 All-Filipino and Commissioner's Cup.

However, in the Governor's Cup, Damian Owens was Sta. Lucia's import and the Realtors dominated the tournament to secured their second finals appearance against the heavily-favored San Miguel team.

After both team's split their series in Game Four, the Realtors won both Games 5 and 6. Game Six was the most dramatic as the game was tightly contested. After San Miguel import Lamont Strothers tied the game at 72 with an off-balanced runner, Chris Tan hit a 24-foot three-pointer with three seconds remaining to give Sta. Lucia the lead for good to win their first-ever PBA championship with a 75-72 Game 6 win and a 4-2 series victory.

Owens was the Best Import of the Conference while Gerard Francisco was the Finals Most Valuable Player.