Meralco took down Platinum Karaoke, 21-16, to emerge as champions of the PBA 3×3 inaugurals’ second leg, Thursday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
Joseph Sedurifa came up big in the endgame as the Bolts finally nailed the ultimate prize. They earlier settled for a runner-up finish behind TNT in Leg 1.
The lanky sharpshooter scored their last three points, none bigger than his two-pointer with 1:59 left to play that knocked the opposition out cold.
A member of the organization for some time now, the CEU product finished with six points in the triumph that also won them PHP 100,000.
Tonino Gonzaga led Meralco with seven points. Dexter Maiquez supplied five points, as fellow big man Alfred Batino chimed in three markers.
It was a stellar run for the MVP ball club, who suffered only one loss in Leg 2. They got back on the Tropang Giga for that Leg 1 heartbreak in the semis.
Meralco finished pool play with a 2-1 record, before beating San Miguel, TNT, and Platinum en route to ruling the now-Level 5 FIBA 3×3 tournament.
“We just stuck to our habits,” Gonzaga said. “We didn’t mind the results. Sabi namin together lang, and gawin lang namin kung ano ‘yung tama.”
Meanwhile, Chris De Chavez led Platinum with 11 points.
The 6-foot-6 winger willed his crew back in the game, hitting timely deuces to turn an eight-point gap to just two, 16-18, with 2:43 to go.
But that’s when Sedurifa took over, first by scoring off a strong drive to the cup. Then came that outside shot – against the defense of De Chavez.
Karl Dehesa and JR Alabanza each made two points. Yutien Andrada scored one for the guest team, which is going home with PHP 50,000.
Meanwhile, TNT beat Limitless App, 21-14, to secure a third-place finish. The Tropang Giga also bagged the 30,000-peso prize.
The Scores:
Meralco 21 – Gonzaga 7, Sedurifa 6, Maiquez 5,Batino 3.
Platinum Karaoke 16 – De Chavez 11, Dehesa 2 Alabanza 2, Andrada 1.
