By JONAS TERRADO
Limitless App became the first two-leg winner of the PBA 3×3 after repeating over TNT, 21-18, in the sixth and final leg of the inaugural conference Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Three straight points from Jorey Napoles and a two-point shot by Marvin Hayes allowed the Appmasters to gain some breathing room with an 18-13 lead and eventually claim back-to-back leg victories at the expense of the Tropang Giga anew in the event backed by 1Pacman Party List.
Napoles, Hayes, Reymar Caduyac and Brandon Rosser took home the top prize of P100,000 as Limitless beat TNT and the rest of the field to the punch in getting multiple leg triumphs in the PBA’s halfcourt tournament.
Their win will also allow the Appmasters to finish third in the overall standings with 361 points, trailing TNT and Meralco which share top spot at 420 points apiece.
TNT’s Almond Vosotros, Lervin Flores, Chris Javier and Martin Gozum settled for runner-up honors and P50,000, raising the team’s total earnings to P260,000.
Platinum Karaoke placed third after a 21-13 victory over first-time semifinalist San Miguel Beer, atoning for falling short of another leg title despite going unbeaten through the quarterfinals.
Chris de Chavez, Karl Dehesa, JR Alabanza and Ryan Monteclaro went home with P30,000, Platinum’s first cash purse since getting P50,000 for placing second in Leg 2.
Platinum also secured the last outright quarterfinals berth given to the four best teams in the Grand Finals on Dec. 29 also at the Big Dome. The finale is likewise backed by 1Pacman Party List headed by Deputy Speaker and NorthPort team owner Mikee Romero.
Teams that went fifth to 10th will play in the preliminaries of the Grand Finals, namely Terrafirma (325), fourth leg champion Purefoods (316), Pioneer (253), Leg 3 winner Sista (218), San Miguel (205) and Barangay Ginebra (167).
Eliminated were Cavitex (140), NorthPort (100) and Zamboanga (74).
Limitless placed second behind Platinum in Pool A with a 3-1 record before staving off Meralco, 22-15, in the quarters.
It then ended the dream run of SMB, which was led by spunky guard Jeff Manday, with a 19-16 triumph.
TNT reached the finals for the second straight week and third overall after stunning Platinum, 19-15.
