By Adrian Stewart Co
San Miguel Beermen (SMB) rode on the exploits of Negrense Jeffrey Manday and Ilonggo Ken Bono as they defeated TNT Tropang Giga, 21-12, in the leg 5 finals of the PBA 3×3 Third Conference at the Robinsons Place Antipolo.
Manday spearheaded the offense for the Beermen with seven points to go with nine rebounds, Bono contributed six markers, while Wendell Comboy and Riego Gamalinda contributed five and three markers, respectively.
Manday and Bono were blazing to start the finale for the Beermen as they ignited a 14-5 start before holding off the Tropang Giga’s attempt to fight back and clinch its third straight leg title.
The Boycie Zamar-mentored Beermen completed a sweep of its six assignments in the two-day competition en route to the leg championship and taking home the top prize of P100,000.
“Sobrang magandang gift ito for us lalo na Fathers’ Day,” said Gamalinda. “Lagi naming nire-remind ang isa’t-isa ‘don’t stop playing defense,’ doon tayo mananalo, saka ‘yung effort.”
The defeat was a heartbreaker for Tropang Giga’s bid for history of becoming the first team to win three straight leg championships. They settled for a runner up cash prize of P50,000.
Almond Vosotros almost singlehandedly carried the fight for the team, finishing with nine points and five rebounds, while Samboy De Leon was the only other Tropang Giga who scored with three points.
After going 3-0 in Pool C Saturday, the Beermen hammered out a 21-15 beating of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings in the quarterfinals and 21-20 verdict over Cavitex Braves in the semifinals to advance to the gold medal game.
Heading into the leg championship, the Tropang Giga prevailed over Purefoods TJ Titans in the quarterfinals, 21-17, before subduing Terrafirma Dyip in the semifinals round, 21-15.
The Braves, meanwhile, outclassed the Dyip, 21-14, to cop third place and net P30,000. Rashleigh Rivero and Pedrito Galanza top-scored for the Braves with eight points each, while Chester Saldua added five points./ASC, WDJ