Novi Sad Al Wahda emerged victorious after topping Manila North, 21-14 in the final game of the 2015 FIBA 3×3 World Tour Manila Masters event Sunday at the Robinsons Place Manila.
The match saw excessive physicality, almost escalating to a near free-for-all when Karl Dehesa was hit inadvertently in the head by Marko Savic. Dusan Bulut and Calvin Abueva meanwhile shoved each other and trashtalked, before security were able to restrain both sides.
Novi Sad however, stood out as the better team as Dejan Majstorovic found his stroke from beyond the arc to give the Serbians a comfortable 11-3 lead.
Foul trouble made matters worse for Manila North as the gap kept growing. Under 3×3 rules, fouls after the seventh team foul is equivalent to two foul shots, while fouls after the 10th leads to two foul shots plus an extra ball possession.
Baskets by Vic Manuel and Troy Rosario pulled the home team within 14-20 before Bulut ended the match with a mid-range jumper to give Novi Sad the win.
With the victory, Novi Sad takes home 10,000 US dollars and a ticket to the World Tour Final in Abu Dhabi. As a consolation prize, Manila North also advances to the Final.
Terrence Romeo of Manila West meanwhile copped the tournament’s Most Valuable Player after putting on a spectacular display over the weekend.
The spitfire guard topscored after Day 1 with 20 points total despite Manila West bowed down to Manila North in the semi-final. He also won the shootout after scoring 11 of a possible 15, beating three other competitors.
Rey Guevarra won the dunk contest after jumping over members of the Philippine All Stars in the finals, narrowly beating 5-foot-5 phenom Porter “What’s Gravity?” Maberry, 80-79 through three rounds.
