NO-quit San Miguel Beer pulled off a comeback for the ages as it bumped TnT off the victory stand in Leg 4 of the PBA 3x3 Season 2 First Conference Sunday at Robinsons Malabon.
Unwavering despite seeing the Tropang Giga reach the hill at 20-13 at the 3:09 mark of regulation, the Beermen gutsily fought their way back and eventually beat their fading rivals to the golden two points in the sudden death period, 22-20.
Big Ken Bono stood at the forefront of SMB's searing late charge, knocking down the buzzer-beating equalizer from deep then delivering the winning basket inside in OT.
Bono finished with eight markers to go with five rebounds and two shot blocks in the clincher with Wendell Comboy (six), Jeff Manday (five) and Raffy Verano (three) providing support.
The Boycie Zamar-coached squad netted P100,000 as it captured the franchise's first leg of the season. SMB continued the "different legs, different victors" trend as it joined TNT (Leg 1), Cavitex (Leg 2) and Meralco 3x3 (Leg 3) in the winners' circle.
Sponsored content:
TNT'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.
"Tulong-tulong lang talaga kami ng mga teammates ko. Yung effort nandoon at never kami nag-give up," said Bono.
The Tropang appeared on its way to the top when a two-pointer by Almond Vosotros put them on the brink of the Leg 4 title and SMB seven points away.
But the Beermen completely turned things around with a strong finishing kick.
Comboy and Manday hit back-to-back two-balls then Bono scored underneath and followed by the overtime-forcing two-painter.
Sponsored content:
Manday foiled Vosotros' attempts in OT, allowing Comboy to give them a 21-20 upperhand and Bono to ice it.
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. (OL)
