Joseph Eriobu of the Purefoods TJ Titans and Amond Vosotros of TnT Tropang Giga led the way in scoring in the three legs of the PBA 3X3 Lakas ng Tatlo tournament thus far.
The 6-foot-4 Eriobu had a total of 56 points in the opening leg when the Titans finished third place and took home P30,000. In the third leg, the 29-year-old Fil-Nigerian finished with an accumulative point of 46 as Purefoods reached the semis.
The TJ Titans lost in the battle for third against Terrafirma Dyip.
Veteran 3×3 players Carlos De Chavez of t Platinum Karaoke and Meralco’s Tonino Gonzaga also made their presence felt as far as scoring during the first leg.
De Chavez finished second behind Eriobu with 45 points, followed by Gonzaga with 42.
TNT then showed its might on the offensive end by occupying the next three spots behind Vosotros (42), Fil-Am Jeremiah Gray (41), and Samboy De Leon (37). This eventually helped punctuate the Tropang Giga’s campaign when they bagged the title after beating Meralco in the tournament’s first-ever finals.
The 31-year-old Vosotros came back even stronger in Leg 2, edging Gonzaga as scoring leader, 57-50. The Tropang Giga managed to finish only third in the leg.
With Gonzaga leading the way, Meralco turned back guest team Platinum Karaoke for the championship.
San Miguel’s Jeff Manday and Kenneth Mocon of Sista Super Sealers also joined the fray with 42 and 41 points to place at nos. 3 and 4, respectively. Limitless Appmasters’ Fil-Am player Brandon Ganuelas Rosser came in fifth with 39 points.
Platinum Karaoke’s Karl Dehesa and Chris De Chavez finished with 38 (6th) and 37 (7th) points, even as Eriobu fell to no. 8 with 32 points following the Titans’ failure to progress in the semis.
Eriobu, however, regained the scoring top spot in Leg 3 after crowding out Dhon Reverente of Terrafirma with 43 points. Mocon and Reverente’s Dyip teammate Matt Salem had 40 each while Sista Super Sealer big man Leo De Vera was at fifth spot with 36 points.
Michale Calisaan of NorthPort also waxed hot in the third leg with 34 points for seventh place while the Pioneer Pro Tibay duo of Carlo Escalambre and Carlo De Chavez both finished with 32 points each for eighth and ninth place, respectively.
Sista went on to win the leg at the expense of Pioneer Pro Tibay.
The tournament is on a five-day break with games set to resume on Saturday (Dec. 4) for Leg 4 at the same Pasig playing venue. (PBA) – bny
