CAVITEX ended a string of third-place finishes in the PBA 3×3 First Conference Season 3 as it denied TNT a repeat, 21-17, to clinch the Leg 4 championship 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 win still a minute left to play and clinch the team’s first title this conference.
Dominick Fajardo added five, including a jumper that moved the Braves on the hill, while Bong Galanza and Kenneth Ighalo had four each to round out the scoring for the 3×3 team of NLEX, coached by Kyles Lao.
Prior to the win, Cavitex finished third in each of the first three legs of the new season.
Big man Lervin Flores showed the way for TNT with seven points and five rebounds. The Triple Giga, winner 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 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 the way to the top, Cavitex nipped Northport in the quarterfinals, 21-16, and then survived Meralco in the semifinals, 17-15, for a place in the title match.
TNT on the other hand, whipped 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
For Third place
Meralco (21) – Batino 12, Sedurifa 8, Santos 1, Caduyac 0.
Wilcon Depot (20) – Andrada 6, Banal 5, Vigil 5, Tumalip 4.
Finals
Cavitex (21) – Napoles 8, Fajardo 5, Galanza 4, Ighalo 4.
TNT (17) – Flores 7, Vosotros 6, Exciminiano 2, De Leon 2.
(ai/mnm)
