PUREFOODS extended its rich winning tradition in the inaugural PBA 3x3 Lakas ng Tatlo, ruling the fourth leg via a 21-16 romp over Meralco Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.
Pao Javelona, Joseph Eriobu, Jed Mendoza and Jun Bonsubre made the most of their breakthrough finals appearance in the 3x3 season opener and unleashed a 6-1 bomb in the windup to beat the Bolts for top leg honors.
"Gusto talaga naming manalo," said Javelona, who led the Titans' attack against Meralco with 10 points, including a two-pointer, a basket and a nifty assist to Bonsubre that gave them a 19-15 cushion.
"Kahit ano'ng mangyari sa games, focus lang kami, bad calls man or turnovers, basta next play kami kasi sa 3x3 mahirap pag nagdwell ka sa mali mo, mabilis ang laro so magkakamali ka na, which is like double blackeye," he added.
Eriobu added five while Mendoza and Bonsubre chipped in three to power Purefoods - owner of 14 championships in the 5-on-5 - to the leg victory.
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The Titans won P100,000 for this feat and sent themselves in the company of TNT (Leg 1), Meralco (Leg 2) and Sista Super Sealers (Leg 3) in the winners' club.
Purefoods hit paydirt after failing to get past the semifinals in the first and third legs, losing to TNT and Terrafirma, respectively, in the stage.
The Titans actually brought down two previous leg victors on their way to the top yesterday.
Before claiming the scalp of the Bolts, the Tony Boy Espinosa-coached Purefoods walloped the Tropang Giga, 21-11, in the semis.
TnT's Almond Vosotros, Lervin Flores, Samboy de Leon and debuting player Martin Gozum took third-place honors via a 21-10 thriller over Platinum Karaoke.
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The Bolts netted P50,000 while the Tropang Giga earned P30,000.
Meralco's Tonino Gonzaga, Alfred Batino, Dexter Maiquez, and Joseph Sedurifa reached their third finals stint after turning back Platinum in the semifinals, 21-13.
Purefoods, Meralco, Platinum and TnT appeared for the third time in the Final Four after convincing victories in the quarterfinals.
The Bolts and Platinum hammered out identical 21-16 verdicts over Cavitex and Terrafirma, respectively, while the Titans booted out Leg 3 runner-up Pioneer Pro Tibay, 20-15, and the Tropang Giga rallied past Limitless, 15-11. (OL)
The Scores:
Quarterfinal 1
Meralco 21 - Sedurifa 9, Gonzaga 5, Batino 4, Maiquez 3.
Cavitex 16 - Fonacier 7, Reyes 4, Soberano 3, Fajardo 2.
Quarterfinal 2
Purefoods 20 - Mendoza 7, Eriobu 6, Javelona 6, Bonsubre 1.
Pioneer 15 - De Chavez 6, Rivera 5, Rono 3, Abrigo 1.
Quarterfinal 3
Platinum 21 - Alabanza 8, Dehesa 7, Monteclaro 6, De Chavez 0.
Terrafirma 16 - Salem 10, Tumalip 3, Bulawan 2, Reverente 1.
Quarterfinal 4
TNT 15 - Vosotros 7, Gozum 4, De Leon 3, Flores 1.
Limitless 11 - Napoles 4, Rosser 4, Hayes 2, Caduyac 1.
Semis 1
Meralco 21 - Gonzaga 7, Maiquez 6, Sedurifa 5, Batino 3.
Platinum 13 - Dehesa 4, Alabanza 4, Monteclaro 3, De Chavez 2.
Semis 2
Purefoods - Eriobu 8, Javelona 5, Mendoza 4, Bonsubre 4.
TNT 11 - Gozum 5, De Leon 3, Vosotros 3, Flores 0.
For 3rd
TNT 21 - Vosotros 12, De Leon 7, Flores 2, Gozum 0.
Platinum 20 - De Chavez 9, Monteclaro 8, Alabanza 3, Dehesa 0.
Final
Purefoods 21 - Javelona 10, Eriobu 5, Mendoza 3, Bonsubre 3.
Meralco 16 - Gonzaga 5, Batino 5, Sedurifa 5, Maiquez 1.
