Almond Vosotros knocked down the game-winner as TNT outlasted Meralco in overtime, 21-20, to rule the PBA 3×3 Season 3 Second Conference Grand Finals, Monday night at the Ayala Malls Glorietta Activity Center in Makati.
Showing grace under pressure anew, the star gunner evaded the defense before grabbing Chester Saldua’s handoff, and then pulled up for the deuce as the Triple Giga emerged triumphant in a clash of experienced squads.
Vosotros finished with nine points, five rebounds, and four assists as he led the flagship MVP franchise to its sixth straight grand championship.
“I didn’t look at it, actually,” said head coach Mau Belen of her prized guard’s clincher. “I was looking at Ranidel [De Ocampo] when he jumped up, because it was the same shot na ginawa niya nung unang tira niya.
“That was a little bit forced. But maybe, he recalibrated his shot,” she added with a grin, “and then, thank God, it went in.”
Gryann Mendoza made six points, Saldua contributed four points and five boards, and Ping Exciminiano added two points, four rebounds, two steals, and a block in the win that netted the quartet the P750,000 top purse.
(C) PBA Images
“This one is special because this gives us a chance to repeat at a Grand Slam,” said Belen of TNT’s latest grand championship. “Sabi ko sa kanila that’s my ultimate goal for this conference, na ulitin ‘yung Grand Slam.”
Jeff Manday, on the other hand, finished with seven points and eight rebounds to lead Meralco in the heartbreaking defeat.
Reymar Caduyac made six points. The veteran guard actually gave the Bolts the first of two points needed to win in OT but the team couldn’t close it out, with Manday’s layup off a drive going in and out of the rim.
Joseph Sedurifa produced five points while Alfred Batino added two points for Meralco, who settled for the P250,000 runner-up purse.
Both squads reached the Last Dance by disposing of the other automatically-seeded teams in the Grand Finals in the semis. TNT took down Pioneer ElastoSeal, 21-13, and Meralco would oust CAVITEX afterwards, 22-16.
The Katibays, though, salvaged a third-place finish by surviving the gritty Braves, 16-15, to bag home P100,000 as well.
Dennice Villamor led the way with eight points and five rebounds, while Reggie Morido added five for the one-time grand champions.
The Scores:
Final
TNT (21) – Vosotros 9, Mendoza 6, Saldua 4, Exciminiano 2.
Meralco (20) – Manday 7, Caduyac 6, Sedurifa 5, Batino 2.
Third-place game
Pioneer Elastoseal (16) – Villamor 8, Morido 5, Baltazar 2, Mocon 1.
CAVITEX (15) – Gonzaga 5, Galanza 4, Napoles 3, Ighalo 3.
