Jorey Napoles showed nerves of steel in the endgame as he towed Limitless App to a come-from-behind 21-20 victory over TNT for PBA 3×3 Second Conference Leg 3 supremacy, Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The athletic 6-foot-4 winger cleaned up Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser’s miss from point-blank with 1:06 left for the win, completing the Appmasters’ rally after a sluggish start that saw them trail by five points a couple of times.
Napoles finished with 14 points. He scored his side’s last four, including the go-ahead deuce that made it 19-18 in their favor with 1:23 to go.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser supplied six markers. Reymar Caduyac scored just a point but provided the hustle as he collected six rebounds.
Limitless, the league’s reigning grand champions, finally scored its first leg title in the new tilt after fourth-place finishes in the previous two. It has bagged home Php 100,000 again, growing its total earnings to Php 1.08 million.
Bound to represent Gilas 3×3 in the 31st Southeast Asian Games, the Appmasters first swept Pool C to enter the quarters, where they ousted Leg 2 kings San Miguel. They then beat Meralco in the semis to reach the final.
The Tropang Giga, on the other hand, were led by the nine points of Almond Vosotros in the loss that foiled their bid of becoming repeat champs.
Samboy de Leon contributed seven points, while Lervin Flores and Chris Javier scored two apiece as the team settled for Php 50,000.
It was truly a stinging defeat for the Leg 1 champs, who started the third leg strongly with a four-game sweep of Pool A. They continued to roll in the playoffs, first by ousting Pioneer ProTibay before downing Terrafirma.
Meanwhile, the Bolts beat the Dyip. 21-18, to secure the third-place — their best finish since being runners-up to TNT in the first leg.
Alfred Batino top-scored with eight points, while Tonino Gonzaga made seven. The veteran tandem joined hands to save their side from collapsing after the opposition roared back and took an 18-17 edge with 1:13 left.
Dexter Maiquez made five points, while Joseph Sedurifa scored a point for Meralco, who bagged home Php 30,000.
Dhon Reverente led Terrafirma with 10 points and nine rebounds. The bruising forward was the one who drilled that lead-giving deuce, as he spearheaded the Dyip’s rally after being down by nine, 3-12, early.
The Scores:
Limitless 21 – Napoles 14, Rosser 6, Caduyac 1, Hayes 0.
TNT 20 – Vosotros 9, De Leon 7, Flores 2, Javier 2.
