DONALD Gumaru before. Now, it’s Ralph Cu.
The former De La Salle player hit the dagger deuce as Barangay Ginebra dealt Meralco a heartbreaking loss in overtime, 19-17, to win a second straight leg title in the PBA 3x3 First Conference Season 3 on Tuesday at the Ayala Mall Circuit.
Cu’s heroic was similar to what Gumaru authored last week when he nailed the game-winner against San Miguel to lift the Kings to victory in the extra period and the opening leg championship.
Kim Aurin finished with eight points and five rebounds, while Cu had six for Ginebra, which took home the champion’s purse of P100,000.
Meralco controlled almost the entire match and was still ahead 17-16 on an Alfred Batino basket with 17 seconds to play.
But Gumaru came to the Kings' rescue, scoring on a layup just before the final buzzer to send the game into overtime.
The Bolts got six points from Batino and took home the P50,000 prize money.
Cavitex notched a second straight third-place finish this conference behind a 19-15 win over Blackwater.
Tonino Gonzaga finished with seven points and five rebounds for the Braves, who secured another P30,000 prize money after a similar podium finish in last week’s opening leg.
Results of the quarterfinals earlier had Meralco edging out Wilcon Depot in a low-scoring match (14-13), Ginebra ousting Purefoods (17-13), Cavitex defeating San Miguel, 19-17, and Blackwater whipping Pioneer Elastoseal (22-13).
In the semifinals, Meralco downed Cavitex, 21-18, while Ginebra won over Blackwater, 22-17.
The scores
Third place
Cavitex (19) – Gonzaga 7, Ighalo 5, Napoles 4, Fajardo 3.
Blackwater (15) – Publico 8, Salva 3, Bayla 2, Jamison 2.
Finals
Ginebra (19) – Aurin 8, Cu 6, Salcedo 3, Gumaru 2.
Meralco (17) – Batino 6, Sedurifa 5, Manday 4, Santos 2.
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