Jeff Comia and Sonny Estil connived in the endgame to lift Team A2-Barangay Ginebra past Team D1-San Miguel, 37-35, to rule the PBA Season 50 Draft Combine tournament finale Friday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The two connected on the winning play, with Comia attacking the middle before dishing it off to a cutting Estil to break the 35-all knot with 1.6 seconds left.
A miss by L-Jay Gonzales from beyond the four-point area was all enough for the Kings to complete the fightback after staring at a 32-30 deficit with 4:20 remaining — and ultimately bag home the P50,000 prize money.
“Na-drawing po talaga ‘yun. Pero ang dapat doon, elevator [screen],” said Estil when asked about the final set. “Dapat doon ako kay [Justin] Guevara eh.
“Kaso sinabi ni Guevara na doon ako, para ‘pag nag ball screen si Comia — kasi nag-usap na lang kami ni Comia, sabi ko sa kanya na ‘pag nasa corner ako, ba-backdoor ako, idiin mo lang doon sa gilid. ‘Yun ang ginawa namin,” he added.
Estil went on to win Combine MVP honors, which came with a P10,000 reward aside from the P5,000 he netted from a Mythical Five citation.
The winger who plays for the Pampanga Giant Lanterns led the all-tournament team that also featured the highly-touted Dalph Panopio, Edrian Ramirez, Jun Roque, and Mario Barasi.
Also awarded P5,000 pesos was Chris Miller after emerging victorious in the Three-Point Shootout, where he bested a field that included Panopio.
Nearly all of the aspirants competed in the two-day Combine, although Jason Brickman had already informed the league that he wouldn’t be able to join the Season 50 Draft festivities due to a prior commitment.
A pair of Fil-foreign hopefuls, Kareem Marcus Huntley and Wilfrid Nada, have withdrawn from the proceedings just before the showcase.
Still, some of the most talked about prospects came in and took part, such as Gonzales, Juan Gomez de Liano, and Geo Chiu, to name a few.
The PBA Season 50 Draft is set on Sunday, September 7, at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. The event is scheduled to commence at 5:00 PM.
