Showing their fighting spirit, Zamboanga-Family’s Brand Sardines held off Butuan-Uling Roasters, 21-17, Wednesday evening to claim the top honors for Leg 1 of the 2020 3×3 Pilipinas.
Scoring leader Joshua Munzon said their experience helped as he and his teammates found ways to get past the Uling Roasters at the INSPIRE Sports Academy in Calamba, Laguna.
“We were fighting through it, and finding ways to win our games. I think it (experience) helped us,” said Munzon in a post-game interview with scribes on Zoom.
The Sardine Master, who also counted Alvin Pasaol, Troy Rike, and Santi Santillan, managed to overcome a 14-17 deficit inside the last three minutes.
Munzon presided over with his deuce (two-pointer) and this fueled a 7-0 blast in the remaining time.
The 6’2” Munzon then settled for a freebie, allowing them to claim the top purse of P100,000.
“It showed today. Many teams were coming after us, knowing that we’ll give it everything we got,” said Munzon, who showed the way with 12 points.
Pasaol added six points, while Troy Rike and Santi Santillan chipped in two and one.
Karl Dehesa showed the way for Uling Roasters with six points.
Both Zamboanga City and Butuan reached the finals after sweeping their matches in the qualifying and playoff phases.
Family’s Brand Sardines reached the finals after beating Porac and Nueva Ecija in earlier matches, while Uling Roasters won over Bacolod and Zamboanga Peninsula.
