Bolts thwart Triple Giga for 3x3 leg crown

MANILA, Philippines — Meralco weathered TNT’s late storm to win their thrilling duel for the Leg 3 title, 19-18, and become the first two-leg ruler of the PBA 3x3 Season 3 Third Conference yesterday at Ayala Malls Fairview Terraces.

Jeff Manday waxed hot with 12 points spiked by a 4-of-6 shooting from deep to lead the Bolts back to the top after their conquest of the conference opener and fifth place in Leg 2.

Manday’s fourth two-ball gave Meralco a 19-13 cushion but the Bolts needed to survive a furious attempt by the Almond Vosotros-less Triple Giga to steal it in the last 1:20 before claiming victory.

Gryann Mendoza’s layup and Ping Exciminiano’s back-to-back two-pointers pushed TNT back to within one then the Triple Giga got one more shot at the potential winner with three seconds left. Mendoza made his shot from beyond the arc but he failed to beat the game clock, allowing Meralco to escape.

Alfred Batino and Joseph Sedurifa chipped in three each and JJ Manlangit shot one to back up Manday in the triumph worth P100,000.

“It was a total team effort,” said Meralco coach Patrick Fran, whose crew stretched the franchise’s overall collection to six leg wins since 2021.

Chester Saldua (eight points, six rebounds), Mendoza (five), Exciminiano (five) and Matt Salem (scoreless) banked P50,000 after coming close to winning one for TNT.