MANILA, Philippines – TNT Triple Giga and Vietnam’s VN Red & Gold crowned themselves men’s and women’s champions of the inaugural Asia Tour 3x3 by posting similar pulsating wins at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.
Two days after TNT’s breakthrough win in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday night, TNT Triple Giga became the first champion of the two-day event after import Raoul Odou hit a buzzer-beating putback to complete the team’s stirring 19-18 victory over Vietnam’s The Performance Lab Vietnam.
Odou’s slam capped TNT’s gritty stand after playing without injured star Samboy de Leon in the finals six minutes of play.
TNT’s win denied Vietnam of a sweep of the tournament after VN Red & Gold pulled off a thrilling 21-16 come-from-behind win over Sniper Thailand on Saturday — thanks to Kaylynne Truong
Truong struck hardest for the Vietnamese national team after scoring the final six points in a performance that showed their readiness for the coming SEA Games in Cambodia next month.
Truong went on to finish with 12 points.
Without de Leon, Ping Exciminiano took charge offensively, finishing with 10 points on the way to winning the MVP plum apart from leading TNT to winning the $10,000 top prize.
VN Red & Gold, on the other hand, bagged $5,000 top prize in the event which has SM as venue partner, Smart as broadcast partner, and Wilson as official game ball, with Heritage Hotel, Fiber Kinetics, Gatorade, Healthy & Pure Brand Water, Center for Culinary Arts and Spurway Enterprises as sponsors.
In advancing to the final, TNT downed sister team Cavitex, 21-18, in the semifinals of the event that saw David Carlos winning the Dunk Contest worth $500.
Sniper Thailand's Khwanjira Thongdaeng ruled the women’s Two-Point Shootout to take home the $200 cash prize.