ALVIN Pasaol buried a wild shot with 40.6 seconds remaining to lift Wilkins Balanga over Phenom Basilan, 21-20,and rule the first leg of the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 Magiting Cup Sunday at SM Clark in Pampanga.
The burly Davaoeno forward ran through Franky Johnson before flipping the game-clinching bucket that gave the Pure a tight one-point win and the P100,000 cash prize in the inaugural leg of the third conference.
"Sobrang saya na nakabawi," said Pasaol, who came through with 10 points for the Pure.
Memories of Wilkins Balanga's heartbreak in the Grand Finals of the Patriot's Cup, however, were still fresh on Pasaol's mind. And that's the reason why he's not really celebrating that much after this conquest.
"Isang tournament lang ito. Yung championship talaga yung goal namin. Sana magtuloy tuloy," said the former UE Red Warrior.
Karl Dehesa added five points, Santi Santillan with three, and Chris de Chavez had a pair in the championship game, in the all-Filipino tourney backed by Coca-Cola Philippines.
The game, however, was not without incident as Santillan's right eyebrow was left bloodied after a wayward palm by Phenom Basilan's Troy Rike at the 4:30 mark.
"Gusto ko bumalik. Buti naagapan kaagad. Iniisip ko yung last conference kasi wala ako nung Grand Finals nun. Yun yung motivation ko," he said.
Basilan's Davon Potts also suffered a busted lip in the highly-physical affair.
Johnson scored nine in the runner-up finish for Phenom Basilan, while Potts had six.
Rike had a chance to win the game for the Steel with the game at a deadlock at 20, but his hook in the final minute rimmed out, leading to Pasaol stealing the game for the Pure.
It was a sweet victory for Balanga, which also took down rival Equaliver Pasig Kings in the semis, 22-19.
The Pure will look to make it back-to-back conquests with the second leg set on Friday, September 6 at SM Fairview in Mandaluyong.
Basilan, on the other hand, escaped a game challenge from Mindoro Tamaraws 7A, 21-13, in their own semifinal pairing.
Filipino dunk king David Carlos also won the Coca-Cola Slam Dunk contest, while Mindoro's Rodel Vaygan triumphed in the Coca-Cola Two-Point Shootout.
The Scores:
BALANGA 21 -- Pasaol 10, Dehesa 5, Santillan 3, De Chavez 2.
BASILAN 20 -- Johnson 9, Potts 6, Rike 4, Dionisio 1.
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