SAN Miguel Beer turned to unheralded rookie Jeff Manday to realize a coveted goal yesterday.
The Beermen tripped Ginebra 21-15 to bag the crown in the second leg of the PBA 3×3 Lakas Ng Tatlo second conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 6-foot Manday, tabbed by SMB in the sixth round at 58th overall in last year’s draft, scattered 13 points punctuated by five two-pointers, while Ken Bono and Bacon Austria chipped in three markers apiece.
Mon Rogado also had two points for the Beermen, who won the P100,000 top prize in ruling the tourney in its first finals stint.
With Manday leading a fiery start, SMB took a 14-4 lead that it never relinquished despite the Kings’ last-ditch efforts.
Austria sealed the Beermen’s title triumph with a basket off a Bono miss at the 2:10 mark of the match.
Austria said winning it all after a long wait proved to be worth it for SMB in the fledgling three-a-side tournament.
“Ang tagal naming hinintay ito. We stayed the course lang,” Austria said.
“We got new players in Ken (Bono) and Mon (Rogado), and ang laking tulong talaga nila,” he added.
The 3×3 title romp was the latest feat for the proud San Miguel franchise, the winningest team in the PBA with 27 championships.
Dennice Villamor paced Ginebra with seven points, while Encho Serrano had five.
Jayson David and Jollo Go combined for three markers for the Kings, who pocketed P50,000.
In the semifinals, the Boycie Zamar-mentored SMB crew held off top seed Pioneer 21-19, while Ginebra rallied past Limitless App 21-18 behind the late buckets of Villamor and Serrano.
The Kings eclipsed their previous highest finish of third place during the first leg of the tilt two weeks ago.
In the battle for third place, the Appmasters whipped the Pro Tibay 21-13 to take home P30,000.
