ANGELES CITY – Alvin Pasaol and the Wilkins Balanga Pure exacted sweet revenge on the Phenom Basilan Steel, pulling off a thrilling 21-20 win to rule the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Magiting Cup Leg 1 on Sunday at the SM Clark Events Center here.
With the score tied at 20-all, Basilan’s Troy Rike had a clean hook shot underneath but the ball cruelly went out, giving the Pure a relief.
With a chance to seal the game and capture the P100,000 leg prize, the burly forward out of Davao powered his way to the paint against Johnson before throwing a wild shot that went in and sealed the win with 40.6 seconds to spare.
Besides picking up max money for the leg, Balanga gained an early lead in the standings of this tournament backed by Coca-Cola Philippines.
“Sobrang saya na nakabawi pero isang tournament lang ito. Yung championship talaga yung goal namin. Sana magtuloy tuloy,” said Pasaol, who finished with 10 points.
Besides the endgame drama, the game was highly-physical as well.
Balanga’s Santi Santillan suffered a cut above his right eyebrow after being accidentally palmed by Troy Rike with 4:30 left while Basilan’s newest recruit Davon Potts suffered a busted lip later on.
Basilan, which got P50,000, was led by Johnson who had nine points while Potts added six markers.
Balanga cruised to the semis with a quick 21-9 (4:47) win over the Zamboanga Valientes MLV. The Wilkins-backed squad, however, needed a miraculous deuce by Chris Dechavez to fend off arch-rivals Equaliver-Pasig Kings in the semis, 22-19 (9:35).
Filipino dunk king David Carlos took down the Coca-Cola Slam Dunk contest while Rodel Vaygan of the Mindoro Tamaraws won the Coca-Cola Two-point Shootout. The two took home PHP 10,000.
The next leg of the 2019 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Magiting Cup presented by Coca-Cola takes place on Friday, September 6 at the SM Fairview Events Center. Then on the weekend, the first-ever Chooks-to-Go FIBA 3X3 Manila Challenger will happen at the same venue.