MANILA, Philippines—Phenom-Basilan Steel finally got over the hump in the 2019 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3×3 Patriot’s Cup.
After suffering two heartbreaking Finals losses in the first two legs, Phenom-Basilan broke through after nipping Wilkins Balanga Pure, 21-16 (1:36), in the finals of the tournament’s third stop Saturday at SM Center Muntinlupa.
“We deserve this,” said Basilan swingman Franky Johnson after suffering finals losses to Gold’s Gym-Pasig, 15-21, and VetHealth-Delhi, 20-21 (3:36), in the first and second legs, respectively. “We did this for the whole province of Basilan. That’s our goal, to redefine Basilan.”
The finale was as close as they come as it saw four deadlocks.
Johnson led all scorers with nine points, including the title-clinching two-pointer. Travis Franklin paced Balanga with six markers while Dehesa and Pasaol had five and four points, respectively.
Pending Pasig’s finish in the 2019 Poitiers Challenger, Basilan rose to the top of the table with 260 points while Wilkins Balanga sits in third with 210. The Steel also pocketed P100,000 for winning the leg.
Basilan had to survive VetHealth-Delhi in a thriller, 22-20 (:23.7), to get to the championship round.
“Tough. Really tough for us. I think we didn’t really know until yesterday that Roosevelt [Adams] wasn’t really playing for sure,” said Rike as Adams, replaced by Gab Dagangon, sustained a right hamstring injury. “We had to come together, and we knew that we were missing some three-point shooting so I knew that going in.”
VetHealth-Delhi remained in second with 230 points.
Wilkins Balanga, on the other hand, outlasted Max4-Birada Cebu in the other bracket, 21-18 (1:26), to enter the finals.
In the Coca-Cola side events, David Carlos of guest team Gold’s Gym Muntinlupa and VetHealth-Delhi’s Kiran Shastri retained their crowns in the Slam Dunk Contest and Two-point Shootout, respectively.
The penultimate leg of the Patriot’s Cup takes place on July 13 at SM Megamall Events Center.