The 1996 Sta. Lucia Realtors season was the fourth season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
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Summary
All-Filipino Cup: With assistant coach Adonis Tierra taking over from Nat Canson at the start of the season, the Realtors fell short of a semifinal stint, finish with a 6-8 won-loss card, they loss to Formula Shell, 76-81, in their last game in the eliminations on April 16, and failed to create a tie with Ginebra, which booked its first semifinal appearances in three years.
Commissioner's Cup: Import Melvin Simon led Sta.Lucia to five straight wins without a loss, the Realtors beat Sunkist, 74-73, in the opening game on June 14, San Miguel, 79-77, in Dagupan City on June 20, followed by wins over Mobiline, 75-73, Shell, 93-90 in overtime, and Purefoods, 99-95, for their best start in franchise history. The Realtors then lost three straight games and Simon was replaced by Eldridge Hudson, who played five games. In the semifinal round, the Realtors lost two of their first three outings and Hudson was sent home and Sta.Lucia had third reinforcement James Hodges, who scored 30 points in his debut but the Realtors still lost to importless Alaska Milkmen, 86-89 on August 11. Hodges played six games for the Realtors which placed third in the Conference.
Governors Cup: Sta.Lucia won their first game against Purefoods, 76-73 in overtime on October 1, playing without an import in the second half as coach Adonis Tierra benched Tyrone Grandberry midway in the second quarter for lackluster play, Grandberry goes down in league history as one of the imports to have the shortest stint, he played for only 15 minutes and scored four points and was replaced immediately in the Realtors' next game, resident import Lambert Shell is on his third duty in the last four years with the Realtors. On October 26, Jun Limpot scored a personal-high 41 points to lead the Realtors to a 95-93 win over Sunkist in Bacolod City. Sta.Lucia were tied with Purefoods and Sunkist at five wins and six losses, the Realtors lost to Purefoods in a sudden-death playoff, 76-81 on November 17.
Roster
Team Manager: Buddy Encarnado