CAVITEX put an end to a string of third-place finishes in the PBA 3×3 First Conference Season 3 as it denied TNT a repeat, winning 21-17 to clinch the Leg 4 championship on Tuesday at the Ayala Mall Circuit.
Jorey Napoles made up for a woeful semifinal showing by scoring eight points to lead the Braves to a rousing win worth P100,000.
He scored Cavitex’s final point with still a minute left to play, securing the team’s first title this conference.
Dominick Fajardo added five points, including a jumper that put the Braves on the hill, while Bong Galanza and Kenneth Ighalo contributed four points each to round out the scoring for the 3×3 team of NLEX, coached by Kyles Lao.
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Prior to this victory, Cavitex finished third in each of the first three legs of the new season.
Big man Lervin Flores led the way for TNT with seven points and five rebounds. The Triple Giga, winners of last week’s Leg 3, took home the runner-up purse of P50,000.
Meanwhile, Alfred Batino and Joseph Sedurifa turned out to be a two-man wrecking crew for Meralco, which nipped the guest team Wilcon Depot 21-20 to claim third place worth P30,000.
Batino finished with 12 points and Sedurifa added eight as the Bolts denied Wilcon Depot a first-ever podium finish.
On their way to the top, Cavitex defeated Northport in the quarterfinals, 21-16, and then survived Meralco in the semifinals, 17-15, to secure a spot in the title match.
TNT, on the other hand, defeated San Miguel in the quarterfinals and edged out Wilcon in overtime, 22-20, in the Final Four for a shot at a second straight crown opposite the Braves.
The Scores:
Third place
Meralco (21) – Batino 12, Sedurifa 8, Santos 1, Caduyac 0.
Wilcon Depot (20) – Andrada 6, Banal 5, Vigil 5, Tumalip 4.
Final
Cavitex (21) – Napoles 8, Fajardo 5, Galanza 4, Ighalo 4.
TNT (17) – Flores 7, Vosotros 6, Exciminiano 2, De Leon 2.
