For the third straight leg in the Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup, the 1Bataan Risers and the Pasig Grindhouse Kings met in the finale. And their trilogy bout proved to be another classic.
This time around, 1Bataan was able to rise to the occasion, eking out a 21-19 victory over their arch-rivals, Friday afternoon at the SM Fairview Events Center.
With the win, the Risers were able to pick up a 20-point cushion over the Kings in the overall standings in the five-leg tourney, 280 to 260.
But unlike their 19-18 win in the first tour last February 16, 1Bataan had to do grind the tournament out without Sean Manganti.
"We expect our battles against them to always be tough because they're bigger than us," said 5-foot-8 guard Anton Asistio.
Not wanting to suffer the same fate as they did just five days ago, Asistio provided the spark for Bataan, scoring six of his team's first 10 points to gain a four-point cushion.
The trio of Taylor Statham, Troy Rike, and Dylan Ababou bulldozed their way to the paint knot things up at 10-all.
Playing the game of Pasig, Chito Jaime, who was activated in lieu of Manganti, powered his way in the paint to cap a 7-2 rally.
"We had to get used to the change because we had been with Sean since the pre-season but it was easy to play with Chito," Asistio said about Jaime.
Pasig would slowly chip off the lead behind the efforts of Joshua Munzon and Statham. However, fouls plagued the Kings late in the game.
With the game tied at 18-all, Munzon fouled Pasaol, Pasig's eighth for the game, that resulted in a split. Santillan would score in the next possession but Ababou gave Pasig a chance with 41 ticks remaining.
Munzon and Statham though could not convert on their attempts that ultimately led to their downfall. A free throw by Santillan with 1.6 seconds left sealed 1Bataan's second championship and a cool P100,000.
"We really wanted to come back, no excuses." declared Pasaol.
Bataan, who experienced their first loss in the group stages -- a 14-17 loss to the Gerald Anderson-led Marikina Shoemasters, got to the final stage after a routine 21-12 win over the Vigan Wolves. Pasig, on the other hand, picked up an equally dominant 22-12 triumph against the Pasay Voyagers.
In the side events, Franky Johnson put on a show in the Wilson Slam Dunk competition, soundly besting dunk artists Gian Abrigo and Darwin Cantong. Munzon picked up a consolation after a razor-thin 8-7 win over Quezon City-Zark's Kib Montalbo in the Gameville Three-point Shootout.
The President's Cup returns to the SM Megamall Events Center on Saturday, March 9.
The Scores:
1Bataan 21 - Asistio 6, Santillan 5, Pasaol 5, Jaime 5.
Pasig 19 - Munzon 6, Ababou 6, Statham 6, Rike 1.