Meralco survived a late charge by TNT, 19-18, to clinch Leg 3 of the PBA 3×3 Third Conference, which concluded on Tuesday at Ayala Malls Fairview Terraces.
Diminutive Jeff Manday was the man of the hour for the Bolts, finishing with 12 points and steering the franchise to its second-leg championship this conference.
However, Meralco had to fend off a spirited comeback by the Triple Giga, trailing by six points with a minute and 28 seconds remaining, and made a fight out of it.
After Manday converted his final deuce of the game – making it 19-13 for the Bolts – TNT battled its way back behind Gryann Mendoza and Ping Exciminiano.
Exciminiano’s two-pointer with 25 seconds to go brought the game to within one point for Meralco.
Unfortunately, the Triple Giga failed to convert from there as Meralco walked away with the win, worth P100,000.
(C) PBA Images
Alfred Batino, Joseph Sedurifa, and JJ Manlangit accounted for the rest of Meralco’s output as coach Patrick Fran’s team duplicated the same feat it achieved during Leg 1 of the tournament.
Playing without star player Almond Vosotros, Chester Saldua led the way with eight points for TNT, which took home the P50,000 runner-up purse.
Meralco earlier eliminated last week’s winner, MCFASolver, in the semifinals, 21-19, while TNT subdued San Miguel in their own semifinal encounter.
Denied of a back-to-back title, MCFASolver salvaged its remaining pride by beating San Miguel for third place, 15-12.
Louie Vigil had a team-high 10 points for Tech Centrale, which settled for the P30,000 purse.
The Scores
Finals
Meralco (19) – Manday 12, Batino 3, Sedurifa 3, Manlangit 1.
TNT (18) – Saldua 8, Mendoza 5, Exciminiano 5, Salem 0.
Third place
MCFASolver (15) – Vigil 10, Ramirez 5, Tumalip 0, Andrada 0.
San Miguel (12) – Bono 6, Apacible 4, Mangahas 2, Cruz 0.
