Meralco ended a string of frustration as it finally secured a leg title in the PBA 3×3 on Tuesday at Ayala Malls Glorietta.
Behind balanced scoring, the Bolts edged out guest team MCFASolver, 15-13, to claim the opener of Season 3 Third Conference for its first championship in almost a season.
The last time Coach Patrick Fran’s team emerged as champions was in the third leg of Season 2 First Conference.
Since then, the franchise finished as the leg runner-up twice this season and came close to knocking out TNT from its lofty perch in the Second Conference grand finals, only to lose in overtime, 21-19.
However, Alfred Batino and Jeff Manday made sure the title wouldn’t slip away from the grip of the Bolts this time. They each contributed five points, leading the team past the upset-conscious Tech Centrale.
Trailing 4-5 early on, Meralco went on a 9-3 run to reverse the tide in its favor and take a five-point lead, which it never relinquished.
(C) PBA Images
Reymar Caduyac and Joseph Sedurifa accounted for the five other points of the Bolts, who grabbed the champion’s purse of P100,000.
Last conference’s scoring champion Brandon Ramirez finished with six points to lead MCFASolver, which earned P50,000 for finishing as the runner-up.
The two teams set up an unlikely finals showdown after defeating their respective semifinal opponents.
Tech Centrale narrowly escaped past Cavitex Braves, 20-19, while the Bolts made short work of Purefoods TJ Titans, winning 21-13.
The Braves later consoled themselves by taking third place after beating the Titans, 21-18, and took home the prize money worth P30,000.
Cavitex had earlier eliminated the grand slam-seeking and undermanned TNT, 19-17, in the quarterfinals.
The Scores
Meralco (15) – Batino 5, Manday 5, Caduyac 3, Sedurifa 2.
MCFASolver (13) – Ramirez 6, Tumalip 3, Andrada 2, Vigil 2.
