Balanga dominates in Magiting Cup 3rd leg

2/2 for Wilkins Balanga

Wilkins Balanga Pure continue their impressive form this season, securing the third leg of the Chooks Pilipinas 3x3 on Tuesday at the SM BF Paranaque Events Center.

Karl Dehesa put an exclamation point to the leg by nailing the title-clincher against arch-rivals Equalivet-Pasig Kings, 21-20 in the final.

He shared afterwards, "It was an experimental phase for us in the first leg but we've been for a long time now. We've been developing chemistry. But this is just the beginning. We can't be complacent and settle as the Chooks league champions. It's a great honor but we want to win international competitions."

Balanga had to fend off a game comeback from Pasig, as the top Filipino club team in the FIBA 3x3 rankings reversed a five-point deficit into a 20-19 lead with 127 seconds left in the game. But Dehesa took matters in his own hands by knocking down the game-winner nine seconds later.

The former PBA pro adds, "The shot was really set up for Chris. We wanted to get a two...Chris ended up passing it to me instead of Alvin, and I was like f--k it, I'm going to shoot it!"

The Pure got balanced scoring for its quartet, with Alvin Pasaol leading the way with seven points, Dehesa and Leonard Santillan each added five markers, while Chris De Chavez completing the scoring with four points.

Joshua Munzon led all scorers with ten points, while Dylan Ababou added eight markers.

Balanga retains their lead in the Level 7 FIBA-endorsed tournament with 260 points, while Pasig moved up to second place with 220 points. Both teams missed the second leg at SM City Fairview due to their preparations for the Chooks-to-Go Manila Challenger. Just behind them are Phenom-Basilan Steel and Fyr Fyter Bacolod,

The Pure established their dominance for this particular leg with an average margin of victory of 7.8 points in their five games, which included a 22-15 win over Uling Roasters-Gulf Bulacan in the quarters and a 21-14 win over Bacolod in the semis.

The Chooks-to-Go Harissa Roast side-events saw David Carlos remain the champion in the slam dunk competition, while Franky Johnson of Basilan made it three different winners in the two-point shootout.

The fourth leg of the Magiting Cup will take place on September 15 at SM BF Paranaque Events Center.

The Scores:

Balanga 21 - Pasaol 7, Santillan 5, Dehesa 5, De Chavez 4.

Pasig 20 - Munzon 10, Ababou 8, Thompson 1, De Vera 1.