LUCENA – It went down to the last shot.
Allein Maliksi knocked it down and the Star Hotshots streak-shooter narrowly beat Barangay Ginebra guard LA Tenorio in a thrilling finale of the PBA All-Star Three-Point Shootout at the Quezon Convention Center here Friday.
Maliksi collected 20 points, including the winning two-pointer from his final shot, breaking a deadlock and breaking the heart of Tenorio.
Before Maliksi put his hands on the last ball in the last rack, he was tied with Tenorio with 18 markers each.
The crowd let out a roar as Maliksi’s shot hit the mark.
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Terrence Romeo made the three-man final round but failed to make it three in a row as Three-Point King with only 17 points.
“Kagabi pa iniisip ko na ito. I’m a first timer at ang bigat ng mga kalaban. Lahat sila talagang mga shooters. Ang inisip ko na lang sarili ko ang kalaban ko,” said Maliksi.
The former UST gunner did better in the preliminary round with 21 points, but Tenorio was better with 23. Romeo barely made the finals as the third qualifier with 18.
Simo Enciso and Juami Tiongson were solid competitors as first-time participants like Maliksi, firing 17 and 16, respectively.
Ronjay Buenafe also came up with 16 while Gary David had 15, Maverick Ahanmisi 14, Marcio Lassiter 13, Jared Dillinger 10 and Larry Fonacier 7.
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