JOREY Napoles saved his best for last.
Struggling in the semis, the former Gilas 3x3 team member came through when it mattered most as he led Cavitex past TNT, 21-17, to win a breakthrough leg championship in the PBA 3x3 First Conference Season 3 on Tuesday at the Ayala Mall Circuit.
Napoles took the initiative early on then scored the title-clinching basket with almost a minute left to play that netted the team the P100,000 champion’s purse. He finished with eight points on 6-of-12 shooting, to go with five rebounds and three assists.
The heroics came after Napoles was held to just three points on 2-of-9 shooting in a 17-15 Braves win over the Meralco Bolts in the semis.
Dominick Fajardo added five, including a jumper that put the Braves on the hill, while Bong Galanza and Kenneth Ighalo had four each to round out the scoring for the 3x3 team of NLEX, coached by Kyles Lao.
Prior to the win, Cavitex finished third in each of the first three legs of the new season.
Big man Lervin Flores showed the way for TNT with seven points and five rebounds. The Triple Giga, winner of last week’s Leg 3, took home the runner-up purse of P50,000.
Meanwhile, Alfred Batino and Joseph Sedurifa turned out to be a two-man wrecking crew for Meralco, which nipped guest team Wilcon Depot, 21-20, to claim third place worth P30,000.
Batino finished with 12 points and Sedurifa added eight as the Bolts denied Wilcon Depot a first ever podium finish.
On the way to the top, Cavitex nipped Northport in the quarterfinals, 21-16, and then survived Meralco in the semifinals, 17-15, for a place in the title match.
TNT on the other hand, whipped San Miguel in the quarterfinals, and edged out Wilcon in overtime, 22-20, in the Final Four for a shot at a second straight crown opposite the Braves.
The scores:
Third place
Meralco (21) – Batino 12, Sedurifa 8, Santos 1, Caduyac 0.
Wilcon Depot (20) – Andrada 6, Banal 5, Vigil 5, Tumalip 4.
Finals
Cavitex (21) – Napoles 8, Fajardo 5, Galanza 4, Ighalo 4.
TNT (17) – Flores 7, Vosotros 6, Exciminiano 2, De Leon 2.
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