By ADRIAN STEWART CO 

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings emerged as champions in the first leg of the PBA 3×3 1st Conference Season 3 following a 19-17 win over San Miguel Beermen at the Ayala Malls Manila Bay in Pasay City on Tuesday, July 4.

Donald Gumaru converted the game-winning two-point shot as the Gin Kings 3×3 squad clinched the crown and the top cash prize of P100,000 after prevailing in a tightly-contested finale.

Gumaru top-scored with eight points, Kim Aurin added five points, five rebounds and four assists, while centers Ralph Cu and Ralph Salcedo combined for seven markers for the Gin Kings.

Gumaru, Aurin, Cu, and Salcedo are all part of the Barangay Ginebra squad that is campaigning in the ongoing PBA on Tour competition under assistant coach Richard del Rosario.

Meanwhile, Ilonggo Ken Bono led the way for the Beermen with eight points, Chester Saldua added four markers, while Marvin Lee and John Apacible ended with three and two points, respectively. The Beermen received the P50,000 runner-up purse.

On their way to the championship, the Gin Kings eliminated Pioneer ElastoSeal in the quarterfinals, 19-16, before escaping with a 17-13 victory over Terrafirma Dyip in the semifinals.

On the other hand, the Beermen marched to the finals after scoring a 22-14 upset win over many-time champions TNT Triple Giga before taking down CAVITEX Braves in the semifinals, 18-10.

The Season 3 leg 1 championship of the Kirk Collier-mentored Gin Kings served as a bounce back after losing to the Triple Giga in the semifinals of the Season 2 finale round.

The Braves salvaged a third place finish in the competition following a 21-15 beating of the Dyip. Kenneth Ighalo top-scored with eight points, while Tonino Gonzaga added six markers.

Also failing to book a semis spot was the debuting Wilcon Builders, which lost to Terrafirma in the quarterfinals, 20-18, and Meralco Bolts, which faltered against CAVITEX, 21-17./ASC, WDJ