WITH a strong finishing kick, Cavitex ended a long drought via a 20-18 disposal of first-time finalist Blackwater in the battle for the PBA 3x3 Season 3 Third Conference Leg 6 honors Tuesday at Market! Market!
Veteran Jorey Napoles was the anchor of the Braves' searing closeout, scoring their last three points to complete the come-from-behind effort from a 17-18 deficit in the last 1:14.
Napoles finished with 13 points as Ken Ighalo (4), Clint Doliguez (2) and Bong Galanza (1) provided backup in delivering Cavitex's first championship after failing to strike gold in the last 12 legs. The Braves last ruled in Legs 4 and 5 of the season's First Conference.
The wards of coach Kyles Lao pulled this off despite posting only 1-2 in Pool C Monday. They shifted to high gear in the KO rounds, beating Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals, 21-17, then taking down back-to-back-seeking TNT in the semis, 18-16.
"Eliminations pa lang alam namin 50-50 na makapasok kami. Kaya nung nakapasok, binuhos na namin. Bumalik kami sa sinasabi ni coach na Cavitex brand of basketball," said Napoles, who also played a big role in shackling Blackwater's high-scoring gunner Wendell Comboy to just seven points on a 4-of-14 clip.
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The Braves took home P100,000 for this triumph, which hiked their overall collection to seven leg victories.
Though they fell short of a breakthrough conquest, Comboy and his Blackwater teammates RJ Deles (8), Dariel Bayla (3) and Rey Publico (scoreless) reset the franchise's best finish in the league. The Smooth Razor previously placed third in Leg 4 of the season-ending conference.
Comboy and Co., who nosed out three-leg ruler Meralco in a dramatic 20-19 comeback win in the semis, netted P50,000.
Meanwhile, three-man TNT denied the Bolts a podium finish and P30,000 prize as the Triple Giga won their duel for the bronze, 21-16. (OL)
