Pasig Grindhouse. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Shorthanded Pasig Grindhouse still found a way to rule the fourth leg of the Chooks Pilipinas 3×3 President’s Cup on Saturday at SM Megamall Events Center.
Playing with only three players after the elimination round, Pasig Grindhouse displayed its championship pedigree in outlasting the Pasay Voyagers, 14-12, in the finals for its second President’s Cup title.
Taylor Statham led Pasig with seven points, including two clutch baskets in the final minute to overcome a gritty effort from Pasay. The Kings missed the services of Dylan Ababou in the semifinals and finals after sustaining a right calf injury.
“I feel like it started early this week, we just had to refocus,” Statham said. “It’s important for us to regain focus, be cohesive as a team again, and the chips fell into their place.”
The victory propelled Pasig, which also secured the top seeding in the Grand Finals on March 31 at SM Fairview Events Center, to the top of the table with 380 total points.
Troy Rike added four points while Joshua Munzon chipped in with three in the highly-physical affair.
“We kinda just picked our spirits up. Dylan is a great leader, so him being on the court or the sideline, he’s gonna have the same effect,” Statham said as Ababou watched and cheered from the sidelines. “We wanted to win it for us and also for Dylan. We have two weeks now so he has time to heal up and get back to us.”
In the semifinals, the Pasay dumped Valenzuela, 21-12, to set up a finals meeting against Pasig, which triumphed over the San Juan Knights, 21-16, in the other semis matchup.
“Pasay we’ve seen a few times. Obviously, we wanted to play Bataan, we wanted revenge, but that will probably come in a few weeks. But Pasay is a good team. They’re super physical. They’re a tough team to beat so it was a lot of fun,” Statham said.
Roosevelt Adams led Pasay with seven points in a losing effort.