Longtime rivals Larry Fonacier and Mac Cardona finally met when their respective teams faced off in Leg 2 of the PBA 3×3, Wednesday at the Ynares Sports Arena.
It was their first meeting in a long while, or since the celebrated cagers played against each other in the pro league back in 2017.
Unfortunately, their highly-anticipated match-up didn’t happen.
Although in uniform, the 40-year-old Cardona sat out Zamboanga’s clash with CAVITEX – no thanks to a shoulder injury he suffered versus TNT earlier.
So with ‘Captain Hook’ out, the ‘Babyface Assassin’ and his Braves wasted no time. They blew out the Valientes, 21-8, for their second win of the day.
CAVITEX raced to a 10-3 start and went on to inflate their lead to double-digits, 18-8, following an AC Soberano two-pointer with 5:55 left.
Fonacier made a deuce of his own from the pocket just seconds later to send his side to match point. Then the game was all done shortly after.
Soberano led the Braves with eight points in the victory that put them on the win column. They previously absorbed a 16-22 defeat to Sista earlier.
The loss was truly disappointing for Zamboanga, who nearly wielded the upset axe on the Tropang Giga earlier before bowing, 18-21.
Kyle Neypes led the Valientes with six markers. His squad has yet to collect a win in the 3×3 inaugurals.
The Scores:
CAVITEX 21 – Soberano 8, Lao 5, Fonacier 4, Reyes 4.
Zamboanga 8 – Neypes 6, Cawaling 2, De Mesa 0.
