THIRD time's the charm for J&T Express.
Denied by TNT twice before, J&T finally hit paydirt and beat the Tropang Giga for the PBA 3x3 Season 2 Second Conference Leg 2 crown via pulsating 21-19 finals victory Sunday at Robinsons Malabon.
Joseph Sedurifa fired eight points highlighted by a booming two-ball that sealed the vengeful triumph over TNT and J&T's rise as the first guest team to rule a leg in the two-year-old league.
Keith Datu and veteran Marvin Hayes added seven and six markers, respectively, while Robin Rono did his share via hustle plays and defense in the clincher.
"Lagi naming iniisip, every single game, every single day, let's just get better. Makukuha din natin, we just have to stick together," said J&T coach Ryan Monteclaro, whose troops banked P100,000 and 100 tour points for this breakthrough.
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"Over the last two days, players have responded well and sabi nga namin, 'sa atin na ito.' And we claimed it," he added.
From a 15-15 standoff, J&T raced to a four-point cushion on back-to-back two-pointers by Datu and Sedurifa.
The Tropang Giga mounted a furious rally to try to overturn it and managed to draw level on Almond Vosotros' consecutive layups plus a conversion from deep.
A series of unproductive sequences ensued before Sedurifa ended the battle with his long bomb.
Vosotros fired a game-high 14 for the Tropang Giga, who settled for runner-up honors worth P50,000 after winning Legs 5 and 6 and the Grand Finals of the Season 2 First Conference and Leg 1 of the Second Conference.
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Cavitex, meanwhile, took third place honors after beating Barangay Ginebra, 16-12. The Braves earned P30,000 for this podium finish. (OL)
