MANILA – Limitless Appmasters became the first-ever PBA 3×3 Lakas ng Tatlo back-to-back champions by ruling the sixth and final leg on Tuesday evening at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Jorey Napoles came up with crucial hits down the stretch as the Appmasters clinched the sixth leg championship thru its 21-18 beating of TNT Tropang Giga.
Napoles topscored with seven markers for the Appmasters, which also clinched the 3×3 leg 5 championship two weeks ago by defeating the Tropang Giga in the finals.
Reymar Caduyac contributed six points. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser supplied five, while veteran Marvin Hayes added three points despite nursing ankle injury.
Both teams engaged in a tight battle in the first eight minutes with the score tied at 13-all until Napoles scored a tough basket underneath plus a foul to surge the Appmasters ahead, 16-13, with 1:50 left.
Hayes converted an outside hit as the Appmasters widened the lead to 18-13 but TNT narrowed the gap to 16-18 off two Lervin Flores baskets.
Caduyac drained two free throws from a foul by Tropang Giga’s Almond Vosotros to make it 20-16 for the Appmasters before Napoles sealed the win with free throws.
Chris Javier, meanwhile, spearheaded the offense for the leg 1 champions Tropang Giga with eight points, while Almond Vosotros and Lervin Flores each finished with four markers, as Will Gozum added two points.
For ruling the leg 6, the Appmasters took home the top prize of P100,000, while the Tropang Giga captured the runner ups cash prize of P50,000.
Platinum Karaoke clinched third place following a 21-13 romp of San Miguel Beermen to take home P30,000. JR Alabanza led Platinum with 13 points./PN
