PBA 3×3 ‘Lakas Ng Tatlo’ champ to be known Dec. 29

By Jonas Panerio

THE first-ever champion of the PBA 3×3 “Lakas Ng Tatlo” tournament will be announced on Dec. 29 as the first conference finals kicks off at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Top seed Meralco leads nine other teams in pursuit of the pride and honor that comes with becoming the first ever winner at the conclusion of the six-leg, standalone tournament backed by 1Pacman Party List headed by Deputy Speaker Mikee Romero.

The Bolts coach Patrick Fran earned the no. 1 spot when it emerged with the highest number of points after six legs of gruelling action in the 3×3 Tour, where the first conference champion will receive the top prize of P750,000.

Top teams

Winner of Leg 2 and owner of a pair of runner-up finishes, the Bolts have been seeded outright in the knockout stage along with Leg 1 champion TNT (no. 2), back-to-back titlists Limitless App (no. 3), and guest team Platinum

Karaoke (no. 4).

All four automatically made it to the quarterfinals for emerging as the top teams at the end of the month-long preliminaries.

The next six teams will battle it out for the remaining four spots in the next round through a single round, six-game pool play prior to the quarterfinals.

No. 5 Terrafirma is bracketed with Leg 3 champion Sista Super Sealers (no. 8), and ninth-ranked San Miguel in Pool A, while no. 6 Purefoods, winner of Leg 4, seventh seed Pioneer Pro Tibay, and no. 10 Barangay Ginebra are grouped in Pool B.

The Dyip and Beermen open hostilities at 1 p.m., followed by the Titans versus Kings at 1:25 p.m.

The no. 2 team in Pool A will then meet Meralco in the quarterfinals, while the top team in Pool B arranges a showdown with Platinum Karaoke. Limitless App takes the no. 1 ranked team in Pool A, and TNT faces no. 2 of Pool B.

Runner-up will receive P250,000, while the third place finisher will get P100,000.