UNIVERSITY of Perpetual Help System-Jonelta of Laguna claimed the gold in the 2019 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3/NBTC Tournament presented by SM on Thursday at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
The Saints took down Sta. Clarita International School-Iloilo in the down-the-wire finale, 21-19, behind the heroics of Kenneth Eugenio and Duke Madelo.
Eugenio hit a two-pointer with 40 seconds left to push UPHSJ ahead, 20-18. Instead for going for the equalizer, Santa Clarita gambled on a field goal to close in, 19-20, but Madela ended the contest with 10 ticks remaining.
The winning Saints include Paulo Paras and Michael Joseph Homo. UPHSJ eliminated Southwestern University-Phinma of Cebu in the semifinals, 21-18, while Santa Clarita earned their spot over Calayan Educational Foundation-Lucena, 15-11.
The Saints opened their campaign in the group stages by beating Camp David-New Zealand, 21-11. This was followed by victories over Hope Christian High School-Manila, 14-12, and University of Baguio, 19-12, for a sweep of Group C.
The SWU-Phinma Cobras salvaged third place over the Calayan Cougars, 21-14. All the winners took home trophies and gifts from sponsors.
The tournament was part of the ongoing NBTC National Finals and Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 in hopes of helping the Philippines by accumulating points in order to increase its Fiba 3x3 rank and qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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