MANILA – San Miguel Beermen pulled off a comeback for the ages as it defeated TNT Tropang Giga, 22-20, to rule Leg 4 of the PBA 3×3 Season 2 First Conference over the weekend at Robinsons Malabon.
Trailing 13-20 with over three minutes left in the regulation, the Beermen gutsily fought their way back and eventually beat the Tropang Giga to the golden two points in the sudden death period.
Ilonggo center Ken Bono stood at the forefront of the Beermen’s searing uprising, knocking down the buzzer-beating equalizer from the outside then delivering the winning basket inside in OT.
Bono ended the match with eight points to go with five rebounds and two blocks. Wendell Comboy added six. Negrense Jeff Manday ended with five, while Raffy Verano provided support with three points.
“Tulong-tulong lang talaga kami ng mga teammates ko. ‘Yung effort nandoon at never kami nag-give up,” said Bono, who previously played for the Beermen’s indoor basketball team.
The Tropang Giga appeared on its way to the Leg 4 coronation when a two-pointer by Almond Vosotros put them at 20-13 but the Beermen completely turned things around with a strong finishing kick.
Comboy and Manday hit back-to-back outside conversions then Bono scored underneath and followed by the overtime-forcing two-painter. In the extension, Comboy drew first blood for SMB before Bono ended it with an inside shot.
The Boycie Zamar-mentored Beermen clinched the top prize of P100,000 as it captured the franchise’s first leg of the season while also continuing the trend of different leg champions in the past four legs.
Tropang Giga’s Almond Vosotros, Lervin Flores, Gryan Mendoza and Ray Mark Acuno fell short of their bid to become the first two-leg ruler of the competition and settled for runner-up honors worth P50,000.
SMB and TNT set up a title duel after beating Meralco, 15-12, and Platinum Karaoke, 14-12, respectively, earlier in the semis. The Bolts took third place honors and P30,000 after nipping Platinum, 19-12./PN
