ALMOND Vosotros appeared to have found his niche in 3x3.
In just a single conference of the PBA’s maiden half-court tournament, the veteran guard has distinguished himself as the top scorer of the recently-concluded six-leg circuit playing for TNT Tropang Giga.
And to think it was the first time the 31-year-old Vosotros played 3x3 competitively.
“Actually first time ko. The whole career ko since high school, since naglaro ako ng basketball, first time ito,” said the playmaker out of De La Salle.
While other PBA players who had been transplanted to the 3x3 circuit remain hopeful of eventually returning to the 5-on-5 games, Vosotros is open to the idea of pursuing a career in the three-a-side circuit.
“Actually kung saan ako dalhin, kung saan ako may opportunity na maipakita ko yung talent ko, kahit saan, gagawin ko lang yung trabaho ko,” he said.
Vosotros last played for the TNT 5-on-5 team during the Philippine Cup bubble in Clark, Pampanga in 2020, where the franchise finished runner-up to eventual champion Barangay Ginebra.
Shift to 3x3
But when the Tropang Giga formed its 3x3 team, Vosotros was tapped to lead the unit together with TNT teammates Samboy De Leon and Lervin Flores, with Fil-Am rookie Jeremiah Gray as the lone addition from outside the franchise.
Although new to the half-court setup, Vosotros showed he can excel in 3x3, too, immediately steering the Tropang Giga to the opening leg win back in November when they beat the Meralco Bolts in the maiden final.
TNT would go on and made the leg final two mores time, but would lose to Limitless Appmasters both times.
In all six legs, Vosotros was consistent on the offensive end, finishing with a high of 273 points to emerge as the tournament’s scoring champion and take home the top purse of P30,000.
Vosotros beat out Joseph Eriobu of Purefoods (265), San Miguel’s Jeff Manday (234), Platinum Karaoke’s Chris De Chavez (224), and Matt Salem of Terrafirma (208) for the individual honor.
The No. 2-seeded Tropang Giga were also in strong contention during the grand finals, but lost to the Appmasters in the semifinals, 21-16.
TNT went on and finished in third place worth P100,000 after beating Terrafirma, 22-14, where Vosotros finished with a game-high 12 points.
Aware of the potential that TNT has, Vosotros said winning the second conference grand finals is definitely the goal for the team.
“After nitong grand finals, medyo nasasanay na (ako). Pero during the legs, adjusting pa rin, kasi yung physicality niya iba. Hindi mo alam kung kailan tatawag (ng fouls),” said the 5-foot-10 guard.
“Yung good thing na nangyari sa amin ngayon, sabi ko nga sa mga teammates kailangan mag-improve tayo, para sa next conference tayo naman (ang mag-champion). Hopefully, hope and pray.”
With the best 3x3 scorer in the team, a maiden title can't be far for TNT.
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