AFTER three straight third place finishes, Cavitex finally found a happy ending yesterday.
PBA 3X3 PHOTO
The Braves trounced the TNT Triple Giga 21-17 to bag the crown in Leg 4 of the PBA 3×3 First Conference Season 3 at the Ayala Malls Circuit in Makati.
Jorey Napoles redeemed himself from a woeful semifinal outing by notching eight points to lead the Braves to a rousing win worth P100,000.
He scored Cavitex’s final point still a minute left to play and clinched the team’s first title this conference.
Dominick Fajardo added five markers, 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.
Alfred Batino and Joseph Sedurifa turned out to be a two-man punch 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 podium finish.
On the way to the top, Cavitex beat Northport in the quarterfinals 21-16 and then survived Meralco in the semifinals 17-15 for a place in the Big Dance.
TNT whipped San Miguel in the quarterfinals and turned back Wilcon in overtime 22-20 in the Final Four for a shot at a second straight title opposite the Braves.
