Pioneer Pro Tibay is relishing its unlikely run to the second conference championship of the PBA 3x3 despite going into the Grand Finals with a slim chance of going all the way.
Gian Abrigo, Robin Rono, Carlo Escalambre and Christian Rivera pulled off the unthinkable as the Pro Tibay took the top purse of P750,000 after a thrilling 12-10 win over the Sista Super Sealers.
The Pro Tibay’s small lineup did it despite having no leg titles since the inception of the league’s halfcourt while also having to go through pool play for finishing fifth after in the overall standings.
But a dramatic 16-14 overtime win that dethroned first conference champion Limitless gave the squad coached by Lester del Rosario plenty of belief.
“Defending champion yun e,” Del Rosario said. “Sabi ko sa kanila, lumusot lang tayo sa Limitless, then after that tignan natin kung saan tayo dadalhin. So yun, swerte.
“Pero hindi madali,” he continued. “Alam kong hindi ibibigay sa atin yan kung hindi natin gugustuhin.”
Abrigo’s two-pointer enabled Pioneer to prevail over the Limitless squad that will also be tasked to represent the country in next month’s Vietnam Southeast Asian Games.
Del Rosario said that the suspension of the first phase of the Grand Finals last April 20 due to a fire that broke out inside the Smart Araneta Coliseum helped Pioneer a lot since they were able to find ways to prepare against the fancied side.
“Meron kami kasing time na tinambakan kami e. Lagi ko naalala yun, seven points lang kami, Yun yung talagang time na binugbog talaga kami ng Limitless,” he recalled.
“Pero merong kaming isang time na nakashoot lang si Marvin (Hayes) diyan sa kanto na nagpanalo sa kanila. So sabi ko it’s anybody’s ball game. Pagtiyagaan natin baka atin talaga yung araw na to. Yun nga, sa amin pa rin talaga.
Pioneer also had to pull off a similar 16-14 overtime win in the semis over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, this time with Robin Rono sinking the clinching two-point shot.
And then in the finale, Pioneer leaned on a balanced attack before thwarting Sista’s late attempts to force overtime.
“Nagstay lang kami sa underdog mentality, kailangan doble at triple yung kailangan naming gawin,” said Abrigo after finishing with four points and six rebounds against Sista. “Pero siguro tumapat lang din sa amin nang dahil siguro sa sipag.”
It was a sweet win for the Pro Tibay, particularly for a tearful Del Rosario.
Del Rosario was overcome with emotions after paying tribute to his late father, coaching legend Aric del Rosario who died in March 2020.
“Dapat andito siya e,” said the younger Del Rosario.