SANTI Santillan delivered the finishing touches for the 1Bataan Risers in edging rivals Pasig Grindhouse Kings, 21-19, to rule the third leg and earn their second Chooks to Go Pilipinas 3x3 President’s Cup title on Friday at SM Fairview event center.
Holding a precarious 19-18 lead off Alvin Pasaol’s split freethrows, Santillan gave the Risers a 20-18 breather scoring underneath off a post move.
Dylan Ababou answered right away with a reverse lay-up to cut the deficit down to just one, 20-19, but his teammates Joshua Munzon and Taylor Statham missed the potential winning-baskets.
Santillan was fouled inside with 1.6 seconds left. He missed his first attempt before nailing the leg-clinching shot that exacted a sweet revenge on Pasig Grindhouse, which beat them in the second leg Finals last week.
“Siyempre kumbaga piso piso na kasi (nasa malapit na kami) wala na talaga yun na yung mindset ko piso piso na,” said the former De La Salle big man.
1Bataan already won two of the first three legs collecting a league-leading 280 points.
The Risers, who also brought home Php 100, 000, go for their third championship in the next leg of the Fiba-endorsed 3x3 tournament bankrolled by Chooks to Go on Saturday next week back at SM Megamall.
Anton Asistio led the collective effort of the Risers finishing with six points in the Finals, while Santillan, Pasaol and Chito Jaime, who replaced Sean Manganti nursing an ankle injury from the last game, had five markers each in their third straight Finals against the Kings.
“Ine-expect namin na tough lagi yung laban namin against them kasi mas malalaki sila samin,” Asistio said. “So yung mentality namin is just to go hard and try to win.”
Pasaol, who hurt his ankle in the first few minutes of the Finals but still played through pain, agreed.
“Kailangan namin makabawi sa kanila kasi nung second leg natalo kami. Kailangan namin bumawi talaga no excuses,” he said.
The Risers needed to recover from a 14-17 loss to Gerald Anderson and the Marikina Shoe Masters that cost a triple tie of 1-1 win-loss records with Zamboanga Valientes in Pool B. 1Bataan still advanced in the semifinals garnering the most total points of 36 — just a marker ahead of Valientes, while Marikina only had 32.
Pasaol and the Risers beat Vigan Baluarte Wolves, 21-12 in the knockout semifinals.
Pasig Grindhouse, bannered by Ababou, Munzon, Statham and substitute Troy Rike, failed to win back-to-back legs but collected its second silver medal for 260 points, running second in the race.
Pasig Grindhouse swept Pool A beating Max4-Birada Cebu (21-17) and Bacoor Strikers (21-9) before outlasting Pasay Voyagers in the semifinals, 22-12.
Munzon won a consolation prize ruling the Gameville three-point shootout with a close 8-7 win over Quezon City-Zark's Kib Montalbo.
Franky Johnson, meanwhile, ruled the Wilson Slam Dunk competition with a windmill dunk on his first attempt and a two-handed jam off a bounce for a total of 95 points beating Darwin Cantong (73 points) and Gian Abrigo (70).
The scores:
1Bataan 21 - Asistio 6, Santillan 5, Pasaol 5, Jaime 5.
Pasig 19 - Munzon 6, Ababou 6, Statham 6, Rike 1.
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