JOREY Napoles provided the big difference as Limitless rallied past TnT in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) 3×3 Second Conference Leg 3 finale, 21-20, to bolster its status as the league’s winningest team on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mr. Napoles fired 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, highlighting his heroics with four two-pointers and the winning putback, as the Appmasters fought back from an 18-15 deficit to secure their third leg crown overall in the three-a-side caging.
Prior to this, Mr. Napoles and teammates Marvin Hayes, Reymar Caduyac and Brandon Rosser topped the fifth and six legs and emerged grand champions of the First Conference.
The triumphant Appmasters, who have been tasked to represent Gilas Pilipinas 3×3 and defend its gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam in May, banked P100,000 for their work in Leg 3.
The Tropang Giga, who were similarly gunning for No. 3 to add to their Leg 1 wins in both the First and Second Conferences, settled for the P50,000 runner up purse.
Meanwhile, Alfred Batino turned in eight markers, six boards and two assists as he and Meralco pals Tonino Gonzaga, Dexter Maiquez and Joseph Sedurifa beat the Dyip, 21-18, for third place worth P30,000.
It was a clean six-game sweep for the Willie Wilson-coached Appmasters over the last two days.
After going 3-0 in Pool C, Limitless nosed out Leg 2 winner San Miguel Beer in the quarterfinals, 21-14, then outclassed Pool B topnotcher Meralco in the semis, 16-11, to set the duel with fellow undefeated TnT.
The Tropang Giga got to the title match after a hard-earned 21-19 squeaker over semis foe Terrafirma in overtime, with Almond Vosotros hitting the golden deuce. Before that, TnT swept its four assignments in Pool A and overpowered Pioneer Pro Tibay in the quarterfinals, 21-8. — Olmin Leyba