Nueva Ecija tops Pool C in President's Cup fourth leg

Gab Banal steps up in the clutch for Nueva Ecija.

Already assured of a spot in the knockout rounds, Nueva Ecija made sure that they finished on top, escaping with a 21-19 victory over Pasig-Sta. Lucia in the final stretch of pool play of the 2020 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President's Cup powered by TM on Tuesday.

The Realtors took advantage of the Rice Vanguards' penalty situation to erase an 10-17 deficit into an 18-17 lead.

However, Gab Banal stepped up with a couple of two-pointers to clinch the victory with just over a minute left. The ninth-ranked 3x3 player in the Philippines finished with eleven points.

He shared afterwards about allowing Pasig to come back from their deficit, "Mental lapse but it's tough to think when you're tired."

The win sets up Nueva Ecija's quarterfinal matchup against Butuan City, while Pasig will face Sarangani for their matchup.

The Uling Roasters-backed quartet kept their back-to-back leg championship hopes alive as they knocked out Bacolod-Master Sardines, 21-16.

Chris de Chavez led Butuan with eleven points. He shared about the mindset into their matchup against Bacolod, "Like I said, in the first game we didn't bring our one-hundred percent. We needed to bring our all in this game." They had lost their opening assignment to Sarangani earlier in the day, 19-21.

Zamboanga City continued their impressive form in the fourth leg, needing just over five minutes to demolish Pagadian City-Rocky Sports, 21-7. The win sets up a matchup against Zamboanga Peninsula in the quarterfinals.

Big Boss Cement-Porac nipped the Valientes, 21-19 in the other remaining pool matchup. The Green Gorillas will face Palayan City in the quarterfinals.

Aside from the knockout rounds, the TM side events will still take place, the Two-Point Shootout, and the Slam Dunk Contest.

In a battle of the last two runners-up in the 2020 Chooks-to-Go Pilipinas 3x3 President’s Cup powered by TM, it was Gab Banal who proved to be the difference.

The ninth-ranked 3x3 player in the country did not allow Nueva Ecija to fall to Pasig-Sta. Lucia, carrying his side to a thrilling 21-19 (8:58), Tuesday at the INSPIRE Sports Academy here.

This is the first time in three legs that Bacolod City, who did not have Alfred Batino for the stop, did not make the next round that has P100,000 waiting for the winner.

Family’s Brand Sardines-Zamboanga City Chooks completed its sweep of Pool D with a dominant 21-7 (5:06) romp of the still winless Pagadian City Rocky Sports.

Besides the playoffs, also taking place as of publishing is the TM side events – Slam Dunk Contest and Two-Point Shootout.