The vivo 3×3 Basketball Challenge Year 2 Grand Finals concludes with epic basketball action

After a month of exciting basketball action, the vivo 3×3 Basketball Challenge Year 2 ended in epic fashion last Saturday, August 17 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. There, the Grand Finals for the tournament’s two divisions took place, and the climactic tourney games did not disappoint.

In case you missed it, this event is the second iteration of vivo’s 3 versus 3 basketball tournament which began last year. This year’s event was a big one as it featured four stops across Mega Manila. To start, the tournament had a stop in SM Fairview on July 21, with stops in SM Dasmariñas and Ayala Malls Feliz on July 28 and August 11, respectively.

The final stop of the tournament was the SM Mall of Asia event which happened on Friday and Saturday, August 16 and 17. During the final day, only a few teams remained, and as such, lots of close games happened throughout the tournament.

This last day began with Quarterfinals matches for both the Men’s and Women’s Divisions, and by 4 PM, only the top four teams in each Division remained.

The PH Army’s team wins the Women’s Division Finals

For the Women’s Division, the first semifinal match was between Army Altama and Uratex Dream. In case you’re wondering, the Army Alatama team’s name is not just for show as the squad consists of Philippine army members.

From the get-go, Army Altama was firing on all cylinders, with the team swarming on both the offensive and defensive end. While Uratex Dream had some timely drives to keep their hopes alive, Army Altama proved to be too difficult of an opponent. In the end, Army Altama won the game 21-10 to punch their Finals ticket.

The second semifinal match was another interesting one as it was between Rizal Technological University ‘s women’s 3×3 team (RTU) versus NZ Creamery which consists of DLSU Lady Archers players. Yes, this means the second semifinal match was a school-versus-school affair.

In this game, NZ Creamery dominated RTU as the team was able to drive to the paint and shoot from long range more effectively than their opponent. As such, the game was smooth sailing for NZ Creamery as they won 21-7.

As for the Grand Finals, there was no quick victory to be had for either team. Army Alatama versus NZ Creamery was perhaps one of the most exciting matches of the tournament as it went down the wire.

Army Altama started hot once again with their swarming playstyle, though NZ Creamery was always within striking distance thanks to timely drives and shots from beyond the arc. With only minutes to play, the score was 15-15.

The remaining minutes were tense as both teams continued to keep things close, though in the end, it was Army Altama that emerged victorious with a score of 19-18.

Adamson University 3×3 team takes home the trophy in the Men’s Division Finals

As for the Men’s division, the vivo 3×3 challenge also gave attendees some great games. To start things off in the semifinals, the Enverga Wildcats faced off against Sports Flooring GK.

This game was a great way to start the semifinals in this division as it was a close game filled with lots of highlight plays from both teams. While the game was close during the first five minutes, Sports Flooring GK pulled ahead in the second half as they pushed the pace and dropped some timely shots from beyond the arc. Thus, it was GK that took the win 21-17 with around a minute to spare.

Next was a match between Stay Groovie and the Adamson University 3×3 team. While the previous match was a high-scoring affair, this next game was a bit different. That’s because Adamson controlled the pace from the beginning as the team played cleanly and with poise. This is shown on the scoreboard as they limited the fouls that they committed (not too surprising given that they have players from the Adamson Soaring Falcons).

Of course, that’s not to say that they dominated though as Adamson had a bit of a rough shooting game which kept Stay Groovie’s hopes alive. However, Adamson’s composed play gave them the victory with a score of 18-12 when the time ended.

The last game of the day was the Finals between Adamson University and Sports Flooring GK. This game showed a contrast of playing styles as GK’s players had flashy moves and played with lots of energy while Adamson continued with their composed playstyle with an emphasis on shooting (they still played with a lot of energy of course).

During the first half, Sports Flooring GK took the lead 10-6 as the team showed off their flashy moves and shooting prowess. Meanwhile, Adamson’s shooting struggles continued from the last game.

Despite this, Adamson mounted a comeback as their outside shots finally started falling and fast drives to the hoop. Soon, the game was tied 13-13, and by this point, Adamson took full control as the team pulled away 21-14 with 1:18 left to take the victory.

Slam Dunk contest entertains vivo 3×3 Basketball Challenge attendees

Aside from the Grand Finals, attendees also got to witness a Slam Dunk contest featuring some star players, along with guest judges from the PBA.

The high-flying dunks from the participants were great to see as they showed off their creativity, with the winner even jumping over three people in his winning attempt.

All the winners of the vivo 3×3 Basketball Challenge

Here are all the winners of the tournament, along with their respective prizes:

The 3rd runners-up received a trophy, individual medals, and vivo Y03 phones. Yes, each player took home the budget-friendly vivo Y03 that packs a 6,000mAh battery and an IP64 rating.

Next, the 2nd runners-up took home a cool PHP 15,000 cash, a trophy, medals, and vivo Y03 phones each.

As for the 1st runners-up, they received PHP 20,000 cash, trophy, medals, and vivo Y18 phones. The vivo Y18 is the brand’s entry-level camera phone that has a 50MP multi-style portrait camera that lets users capture detailed portraits even in low light.

Finally, the champions won PHP 30,000 cash, trophy, medals, and vivo Y28 phones. As befits the winners of the two divisions, the vivo Y28 is a capable smartphone with 128GB storage, Multi Turbo 5.5, and CoolTech Hyper Engine Gaming technology. Thanks to these features, the Y28 is a gaming phone for budget-conscious buyers.

With the Year 2 event coming to a close, it’s fair to say that the vivo 3×3 Basketball Challenge delivered on its promise of featuring lots of exciting basketball action. Fingers crossed that we get a Year 3 in 2025!