Ginebra’s solid quartet escaped past an upset-conscious San Miguel in overtime, winning the opener of the PBA 3×3 First Conference Season 3, 19-17, on Tuesday at Ayala Mall Manila Bay.
Donald Gumaru finished with eight points, including the game-winning deuce that secured the Kings the P100,000 prize money after a tightly-fought finale.
Kim Aurin had an all-around game with five points, five rebounds, and five assists, while setting up Gumaru for the game-winner.
Ralph Cu and Raphael Salcedo rounded out the scoring with four and two points, respectively, for the Kings, who are coached by Kirk Collier.
Incidentally, all four Ginebra players are also part of the team’s roster in the ongoing PBA On Tour.
The Kings narrowly defeated the Terrafirma Dyip in the semis, 17-13.
It was a heartbreaker of a loss for the Beermen, who earlier pulled off shocking wins over grand slam champion TNT and second-seed Cavitex to reach the finals.
Marvin Lee exploded for 15 points in the quarterfinals as the Beermen ousted the Triple Giga, 22-14, while Ken Bono imposed himself in the paint during the semis, finishing with nine points and 11 rebounds in San Miguel’s 18-10 win over Cavitex to advance to the title game.
The Beermen received the P50,000 runner-up purse.
Cavitex beat Terrafirma for the battle for third, 21-15.
Ken Ighalo top-scored with eight points, while Tonino Gonzaga added six for the Braves, who bagged P30,000.
Earlier in the quarterfinals, the Braves slammed the door on Meralco, 21-17, Terrafirma denied newcomer Wilcon Depot a semifinals seat, 20-18, and Ginebra downed Pioneer Elastoseal, 19-16, to advance.
The Scores
Third place
Cavitex (21) – Ighalo 8, Gonzaga 6, Napoles 5, Fajardo 2.
Terrafirma (15) – Rios 9, Cachuela 2, Duremdes 2, Tan 2.
Finals
Ginebra (19) – Gumaru 8, Aurin 5, Cu 4, Salcedo 2.
San Miguel (17) – Bono 8, Saldua 4, Lee 3, Apacible 2.
