MANILA, Philippines, April 24 ------ TNT Triple Giga proved yet again that it’s the country’s top pro 3×3 club team. In a pulsating finale, TNT survived The Performance Lab Vietnam by the slimmest of margins, 19-18, to bag the men’s division crown of Asia Tour 3×3 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
Beninese big man Raoul Odou buried the game-winning putback slam at the buzzer to lift TNT, a multi-time PBA 3×3 champion, to another crown. The undermanned TNT side played without the injured Samboy de Leon with six minutes still left on the clock, but tournament MVP Ping Exciminiano picked up the slack with his 10 points, including two deuces. Gryann Mendoza also had 4 points as the Triple Giga bagged the US $10,000 cash prize in the inaugural tournament.
Hassan Thomas led The Performance Lab with 7 points as the runners-up took home a $5,000 prize.
TNT first had to hurdle fellow Filipino side Happy Hotels, 21-13, in the quarterfinals before fending off sister team Cavitex, 21-18, in the semifinals. Cavitex did gain a bit of consolation, dominating VN Red & Gold, 21-4, with 4:45 to spare in the battle for third to claim $2,500.
David Carlos, meanwhile, dazzled the crowd to rule the Dunk Contest for the $500 prize, besting Steve Lin and Daniel Marcelo.
In women’s action, VN Red & Gold showed it’s ready to conquer Southeast Asia after a solid title run. Kaylynne Truong took over late for the Vietnamese national team, scoring the final 6 points to pull her side to a 21-16 come-from-behind win over Sniper Thailand. Her freebie with 1:01 left capped off her performance with 12 big points as VN Red & Gold took home the $5,000 cash prize.
Twin sister Kayleigh Truong also did damage with her 7 points as they completed a five-game romp ahead of their quest to improve on their silver-medal finish in the last Southeast Asian Games. Supavadee Kunchuan did her best for Sniper Thailand with 8 points, while Piyanuch Sriprem had 7 in the losing effort.
Still, the Thais got $2,500 for finishing as runners-up in the tourney backed by SM as venue partner, Smart as broadcast partner, and Wilson as official gameball, with Heritage Hotel, Fiber Kinetics, Gatorade, Healthy & Pure Brand Water, Center for Culinary Arts, and Spurway Enterprises as sponsors.
VN Red & Gold earlier drubbed Harimau Malaysia B, 21-14, while Sniper Thailand imposed its might on Uratex Dream, 21-13, in their semifinal matches. Meanwhile, Sniper Thailand’s Khwanjira Thongdaeng ruled the Two-Point Shootout to take home the $200 cash prize. She drained 9 points and got there the fastest to break the three-way tie with Nico Salva of Happy Hotels and Tan Pei Jie of Harimau Malaysia B who also nabbed the same score.
Source: rappler.com
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