San Miguel seeks a title repeat, while TNT is out for vengeance as the Philippine Basketball Association 3×3 unfurls Leg 5 of Season 2 First Conference on Saturday at Robinsons Novaliches.
The Beermen and Tropang Giga engaged in a fierce final showdown the previous leg which saw San Miguel clawing its way back from a seven-point deficit in regulation to win the championship in overtime, 22-20.
Ken Bono, Wendell Comboy, Jeff Manday, and Rafael Verano are back for another tour of duty for the Beermen in their bid to win a second straight leg and another P100,000 prize purse.
But expected to be hot on their heels are the Tropang Giga, who were actually a point away from claiming the crown after racing to a 20-13 lead with four minutes left.
The shots wouldn’t fall for Almond Vosotros and his boys though, allowing the Beermen to rally their way back and pull the rug from under the Tropang Giga.
Vosotros will again be at the forefront of TNT’s campaign along with Lervin Flores and the duo of Samboy De Leon and Ping Exciminiano, respectively, who take over the spots of Gryann Mendoza and Mark Acuno.
As champion, San Miguel leads Pool A together with Cavitex and Blackwater, while TNT leads Pool B along with NorthPort and Barangay Ginebra.
Leg 4 third placer Meralco tops Pool C with Pioneer Elastoseal and Terrafirma, while Pool D is composed of Platinum Karaoke, J&T Express, and Purefoods TJ Titans.
The Beermen kick off hostilities in the penultimate leg of the conference, taking on Blackwater Red President in the first of another heavy, 12-game schedule in Saturday’s pool play.
The top two teams in each pool will advance in the knockout stage to be played on Sunday along with the classification games.
Champion team receives the top prize of P100,000, runner up P50,000, and third placer P30,000.