2021 PBA 3x3 season

2021 PBA 3x3 season
2021 PBA 3x3 season
Duration	November 20, 2021 – July 3, 2022
Number of teams	13
TV partner(s)	Local: ; One Sports ; TV5 (selected legs and grand finals only) ; One Sports ; PBA Rush (HD) ; International: ; AksyonTV International ; Online: ; GigaPlay
1st Conference champions	Limitless Appmasters
1st Conference runners-up	Platinum Karaoke
2nd Conference champions	Pioneer Pro Tibay
2nd Conference runners-up	Sista Super Sealers
3rd Conference champions	TNT Tropang Giga
3rd Conference runners-up	Purefoods TJ Titans
Seasons
	← N/A 2022–23 →

The 2021 PBA 3x3 season was the inaugural season of the PBA 3x3, the 3x3 basketball league of the Philippine Basketball Association.

Postponement

The inaugural season was supposed to be held in 2020, with all 12 franchise teams of the main PBA to field their own teams. Mighty Sports and Dunkin Donuts reportedly were interesting in also fielding teams in the PBA 3x3.^[1] The inaugural season was supposed to start with the 3×3 Philippine Cup in March 2020, but was postponed to 2021 by June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the PBA preoccupied with plans to resume the season of its main league during that time.^[2]

The PBA 3x3 inaugural season was initially scheduled to be held in parallel with the 2021 PBA season, which opened on April 11, 2021,^[3] but was further postponed. The inaugural PBA 3x3 season commenced on November 20, 2021.^[4]

Teams

All 12 franchise teams of the main 5-a-side Philippine Basketball Association are eligible to field a 3x3 team for the 2021 PBA 3x3 season.^[3] The Alaska Aces and Blackwater Bossing decided not to field a team, while three guest teams (Pioneer, Platinum, and Zamboanga) participated.^[5]^[6] Another guest team, Master Sardines, joined before the second conference to become the 14th team of the tournament.^[7] The Zamboanga Valientes took a leave of absence during the second conference, but returned during the third conference.

Four of the participating franchising teams Magnolia Hotshots, NLEX Road Warriors, Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters announced in November they would be competing in the PBA 3x3 under different team names; Purefoods TJ Titans, Cavitex Braves, Limitless Appmasters, and Sista Super Sealers respectively.^[6]^[8]

Team	Company	Coach
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	Ginebra San Miguel, Inc.	Kirk Collier
Cavitex Braves	Metro Pacific Investments Corporation	Borgie Hermenda Emman Monfort
Limitless Appmasters	Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc.	Willy Wilson
Master Sardines Fishing Champs^{[note 1]}	Universal Canning, Inc.	Victor Ycasiano
Meralco Bolts 3x3	Manila Electric Company	Patrick Fran
NorthPort Batang Pier	Sultan 900 Capital, Inc.	Alfredo Jarencio II
Pioneer Pro Tibay^{[note 2]}	Pioneer Epoxy Adhesives Inc.	Lester Del Rosario
Platinum Karaoke^{[note 1]}	Vismay International Corporation	Anton Altamirano
Purefoods TJ Titans	San Miguel Food and Beverage, Inc.	Tonyboy Espinosa
San Miguel Beermen^[12]	San Miguel Brewery, Inc.	Boycie Zamar
Sista Super Sealers^[13]	Asian Coatings Philippines, Inc.	Juven Formancil
Terrafirma 3x3	Terrafirma Realty Development Corporation	Raymond Tiongco James Tolentino
TNT Tropang Giga^[14]	Smart Communications	Mau Belen
Zamboanga Valientes	MLV Group

Format

The inaugural PBA 3x3 season had three tournaments or conference.^[6] Each conference had six two-day legs and a grand final. The 13 teams were divided into three pools, with pool A having five teams while pools B and C having four each. Teams within their pools play in a single round-robin format. The top three teams of pool A and the top two teams of pools B and C directly qualify for the quarterfinals. The third-best teams of pools B and C played in a knockout game prior to the quarterfinals. The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament and a third place game is also held. The winner of each leg gets ₱100,000, the runner-up gets ₱50,000, while the third placed team gets ₱30,000.^[15]^[16] The seedings and pool compositions for each leg are based on the results of the preceding leg. For the third conference, there were 14 teams divided into four pools, with pools A and C having four teams while pools B and D having three each. The top two teams of each pool advanced to the quarterfinals.

After six legs, the cumulative standings were calculated and the top four teams directly qualified for the quarterfinals of the Grand Finals. The fifth to tenth-placed teams qualified for the preliminary round of the Grand Finals. The bottom teams were not qualified for the Grand Finals.^[17] The Grand Champion gets ₱750,000, the runner-up gets ₱250,000, while the third placed team gets ₱100,000.

Transactions

Coaching changes

Coaching changes
Team	In-season
Second Conference
Master Sardines Fishing Champs	Victor Ycasiano	Hubert De Los Santos
Terrafirma 3x3	Raymond Tiongco	Joe Lipa

First conference

The conference started on November 20, 2021, and ended on December 29.

Legs summary

Pos	Team	1st leg	2nd leg	3rd leg	4th leg	5th leg	6th leg	Pts	Qualification
1	Meralco Bolts 3x3	2nd	1st	5th	2nd	4th	5th	420	Qualification to Grand Finals quarterfinal round
2	TNT Tropang Giga	1st	3rd	9th	3rd	2nd	2nd	420
3	Limitless Appmasters	11th	4th	7th	6th	1st	1st	361
4	Platinum Karaoke	4th	2nd	6th	4th	6th	3rd	360
5	Terrafirma 3x3	5th	6th	3rd	5th	3rd	7th	325	Qualification to Grand Finals preliminary round
6	Purefoods TJ Titans	3rd	9th	4th	1st	5th	11th	316
7	Pioneer Pro Tibay	10th	7th	2nd	7th	7th	8th	253
8	Sista Super Sealers	12th	5th	1st	10th	10th	10th	218
9	San Miguel Beermen	7th	8th	11th	9th	8th	4th	206
10	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	8th	11th	8th	11th	9th	6th	167
11	Cavitex Braves	6th	10th	12th	8th	12th	12th	140
12	NorthPort Batang Pier	9th	13th	10th	12th	11th	9th	100
13	Zamboanga Valientes	13th	12th	13th	13th	13th	13th	74

Source: PBA 3x3

Grand Finals

Preliminary round

Pool A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	PCT	Qualification
1	San Miguel Beermen	2	1	1	38	36	+2	.500^[a]	Quarterfinals
2	Terrafirma 3x3	2	1	1	35	35	0	.500^[a]	Quarterfinals
3	Sista Super Sealers	2	1	1	33	35	−2	.500^[a]

Source: PBA 3x3
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; Win ratio if unequal number of games; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Average points per game; 4) Higher seed.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c San Miguel Beermen 19.0 avg. points; Terrafirma 3x3 17.5 avg. points; Sista Super Sealers 16.5 avg. points

Pool B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	PCT	Qualification
1	Pioneer Pro Tibay	2	2	0	43	36	+7	1.000	Quarterfinals
2	Purefoods TJ Titans	2	1	1	41	31	+10	.500	Quarterfinals
3	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	2	0	2	25	42	−17	.000

Source: PBA 3x3
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; Win ratio if unequal number of games; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Average points per game; 4) Higher seed.

Knockout stage

Bracket

Seed refers to the position of the team after six legs. Letter and number inside parentheses denotes the pool letter and pool position of the team, respectively, after the preliminary round of the Grand Finals.

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Meralco Bolts 3x3	15

5 (A2)	Terrafirma 3x3	19
			5 (A2)	Terrafirma 3x3	10

			4	Platinum Karaoke	21
7 (B1)	Pioneer Pro Tibay	15

4	Platinum Karaoke	21
						4	Platinum Karaoke	16

						3	Limitless Appmasters	18
3	Limitless Appmasters	21

9 (A1)	San Miguel Beermen	15
			3	Limitless Appmasters	21	Third place

			2	TNT Tropang Giga	16
6 (B2)	Purefoods TJ Titans	13				5 (A2)	Terrafirma 3x3	14

2	TNT Tropang Giga	18				2	TNT Tropang Giga	22

Second conference

The second conference was originally scheduled to start on January 8, 2022, but was suspended after Metro Manila was put on Alert Level 3 due to the rising COVID-19 cases.^[18] The conference started on February 19 and ended on April 27.

Legs summary

Pos	Team	1st leg	2nd leg	3rd leg	4th leg	5th leg	6th leg	Pts	Qualification
1	Limitless Appmasters	4th	3rd	1st	2nd	1st	7th	450	Qualification to Grand Finals quarterfinal round
2	TNT Tropang Giga	1st	6th	2nd	3rd	2nd	4th	435
3	Meralco Bolts 3x3	2nd	5th	3rd	1st	6th	5th	395
4	San Miguel Beermen	6th	1st	7th	4th	8th	1st	380
5	Pioneer Pro Tibay	13th	4th	8th	7th	5th	2nd	277	Qualification to Grand Finals preliminary round
6	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	3rd	2nd	9th	5th	13th	8th	267
7	Platinum Karaoke	5th	7th	11th	6th	3rd	6th	266
8	Purefoods TJ Titans	8th	8th	10th	9th	4th	3rd	238
9	Sista Super Sealers	7th	10th	5th	11th	7th	11th	180
10	Terrafirma 3x3	11th	12th	4th	10th	11th	13th	136
11	Cavitex Braves	9th	11th	6th	12th	10th	9th	133
12	Master Sardines Fishing Champs	12th	13th	12th	8th	9th	12th	109
13	NorthPort Batang Pier	10th	9th	13th	13th	12th	10th	94

Source: PBA 3x3

Grand Finals

Preliminary round

Pool A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification
1	Sista Super Sealers	2	2	0	39	36	+3	Quarterfinals
2	Pioneer Pro Tibay	2	1	1	38	35	+3	Quarterfinals
3	Purefoods TJ Titans	2	0	2	35	41	−6

Source: PBA 3x3
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; Win ratio if unequal number of games; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Average points per game; 4) Higher seed.

Pool B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Qualification
1	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	2	2	0	44	37	+7	Quarterfinals
2	Terrafirma 3x3	2	1	1	39	41	−2	Quarterfinals
3	Platinum Karaoke	2	0	2	38	43	−5

Source: PBA 3x3
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; Win ratio if unequal number of games; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Average points per game; 4) Higher seed.

Knockout stage

Bracket

Seed refers to the position of the team after six legs. Letter and number inside parentheses denotes the pool letter and pool position of the team, respectively, after the preliminary round of the Grand Finals.

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	Limitless Appmasters	14

5 (A2)	Pioneer Pro Tibay	16
			5 (A2)	Pioneer Pro Tibay	16

			6 (B1)	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	14
6 (B1)	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	21

4	San Miguel Beermen	12
						5 (A2)	Pioneer Pro Tibay	12

						9 (A1)	Sista Super Sealers	10
3	Meralco Bolts 3x3	15

9 (A1)	Sista Super Sealers	16
			9 (A1)	Sista Super Sealers	13	Third place

			2	TNT Tropang Giga	12
10 (B2)	Terrafirma 3x3	17				6 (B1)	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	21

2	TNT Tropang Giga	18				2	TNT Tropang Giga	16

Third conference

The conference started on May 21, 2022, and ended on July 3.

Legs summary

Pos	Team	1st leg	2nd leg	3rd leg	4th leg	5th leg	6th leg	Pts	Qualification
1	TNT Tropang Giga	1st	7th	1st	1st	2nd	2nd	500	Qualification to Grand Finals quarterfinal round
2	Meralco Bolts 3x3	4th	1st	4th	8th	5th	3rd	375
3	Purefoods TJ Titans	3rd	5th	2nd	12th	7th	1st	354
4	San Miguel Beermen	7th	10th	7th	3rd	1st	5th	318
5	Cavitex Braves	6th	2nd	10th	5th	3rd	8th	298	Qualification to Grand Finals preliminary round
6	Platinum Karaoke	5th	6th	3rd	6th	6th	7th	295
7	Terrafirma 3x3	9th	4th	13th	2nd	4th	13th	244
8	Limitless Appmasters	10th	8th	5th	4th	9th	4th	243
9	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	2nd	3rd	14th	10th	8th	11th	230
10	Sista Super Sealers	8th	13th	6th	9th	12th	6th	171
11	Pioneer Pro Tibay	11th	11th	9th	7th	14th	12th	117
12	Master Sardines Fishing Champs	13th	12th	8th	13th	13th	9th	105
13	NorthPort Batang Pier	14th	9th	12th	11th	11th	10th	95
14	Zamboanga Valientes	12th	14th	11th	14th	10th	14th	81

Source: PBA 3x3

Grand Finals

Preliminary round

Pool A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	PCT	Qualification
1	Limitless Appmasters	2	2	0	42	35	+7	1.000	Quarterfinals
2	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	2	1	1	37	36	+1	.500	Quarterfinals
3	Cavitex Braves	2	0	2	35	43	−8	.000

Source: PBA 3x3
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; Win ratio if unequal number of games; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Average points per game; 4) Higher seed.

Pool B

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	PCT	Qualification
1	Platinum Karaoke	2	2	0	38	22	+16	1.000	Quarterfinals
2	Sista Super Sealers	2	1	1	29	27	+2	.500	Quarterfinals
3	Terrafirma 3x3	2	0	2	18	36	−18	.000

Source: PBA 3x3
Rules for classification: 1) Wins; Win ratio if unequal number of games; 2) Head-to-head record; 3) Average points per game; 4) Higher seed.

Knockout stage

Bracket

Seed refers to the position of the team after six legs. Letter and number inside parentheses denotes the pool letter and pool position of the team, respectively, after the preliminary round of the Grand Finals.

Quarterfinals			Semifinals			Finals

1	TNT Tropang Giga	21

9 (A2)	Barangay Ginebra San Miguel	14
			1	TNT Tropang Giga	21

			4	San Miguel Beermen	15
6 (B1)	Platinum Karaoke	8

4	San Miguel Beermen	10
						1	TNT Tropang Giga	21

						3	Purefoods TJ Titans	19
3	Purefoods TJ Titans	18

8 (A1)	Limitless Appmasters	16
			3	Purefoods TJ Titans	21	Third place

			10 (B2)	Sista Super Sealers	19
10 (B2)	Sista Super Sealers	18				4	San Miguel Beermen	20

2	Meralco Bolts 3x3	12				10 (B2)	Sista Super Sealers	21

Notes

^ ^a ^b Universal Canning was set to enter a team featuring their brand Master Sardines, but later withdrew.^[9] They were replaced by a team of Vismay International Corporation, which is Platinum Karaoke.^[10] Master Sardines eventually joined before the second conference.^[7]
^ Phenom Sportswear was supposed to enter with a co-branding of former PBA Developmental League team BRT Sumisip.^[11] However they were not among the final roster of participating teams. They were subsequently replaced by a team of Pioneer Epoxy Adhesives Inc. under the monicker of Pioneer Pro Tibay.

References

^ Giongco, Mark (February 1, 2020). "PBA, SBP set to launch 3×3 tournament in March". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
^ Lozada, Bong (June 12, 2020). "Inaugural PBA 3x3 tournament postponed to next year". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
^ ^a ^b Leongson, Randolph (March 10, 2021). "PBA set for 16-team three-conference maiden 3x3 season". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved March 10, 2021.
^ "SMB, Meralco go unbeaten on Day 1 to book PBA 3x3 knockout stage spots". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
^ Bacnis, Justine (April 5, 2021). "Blackwater to skip PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c Terrado, Jonas (November 12, 2021). "PBA 3x3 to hold draw proceedings for 13 teams; Opening set on Nov. 20". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Master Sardines newest team to join growing PBA 3x3". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
^ Bacnis, Justine (November 2, 2021). "PBA 3x3 to have 13 teams". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
^ Li, Matthew (March 27, 2021). "Master Sardines commits to PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved March 27, 2021.
^ Li, Matthew (July 19, 2021). "Ababou to lead Platinum Karaoke in PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
^ Li, Matthew (April 20, 2021). "Phenom-BRT Sumisip replaces Blackwater in PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
^ "Louie Vigil leads San Miguel team in inaugural PBA 3x3". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
^ Li, Matthew (July 14, 2021). "Franky Johnson headlines Rain or Shine 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
^ "TNT insists Gray committed to 3x3 team amid Taiwan rumor". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
^ "FAST FACTS: PBA 3x3 lineups, groupings, tournament format". Rappler. November 13, 2021.
^ "PBA 3X3 gets going with 17-game opener". 3x3.pba.ph.
^ "Meralco, TNT lead qualifiers to PBA 3x3 First Conference Grand Finals". 3x3.pba.ph.
^ "PBA postpones 3x3 second conference tentatively". 3x3.pba.ph.

[table_hth_TER0.85365997201468-20] San Miguel Beermen 19.0 avg. points; Terrafirma 3x3 17.5 avg. points; Sista Super Sealers 16.5 avg. points

[Master-11] Universal Canning was set to enter a team featuring their brand Master Sardines, but later withdrew.^[9] They were replaced by a team of Vismay International Corporation, which is Platinum Karaoke.^[10] Master Sardines eventually joined before the second conference.^[7]

[13] Phenom Sportswear was supposed to enter with a co-branding of former PBA Developmental League team BRT Sumisip.^[11] However they were not among the final roster of participating teams. They were subsequently replaced by a team of Pioneer Epoxy Adhesives Inc. under the monicker of Pioneer Pro Tibay.

[march-1] Giongco, Mark (February 1, 2020). "PBA, SBP set to launch 3×3 tournament in March". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

[2] Lozada, Bong (June 12, 2020). "Inaugural PBA 3x3 tournament postponed to next year". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

[okays16-3] Leongson, Randolph (March 10, 2021). "PBA set for 16-team three-conference maiden 3x3 season". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved March 10, 2021.

[4] "SMB, Meralco go unbeaten on Day 1 to book PBA 3x3 knockout stage spots". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. November 20, 2021. Retrieved November 20, 2021.

[5] Bacnis, Justine (April 5, 2021). "Blackwater to skip PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved April 5, 2021.

[draw-proceedings-6] Terrado, Jonas (November 12, 2021). "PBA 3x3 to hold draw proceedings for 13 teams; Opening set on Nov. 20". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved November 13, 2021.

[Mas-7] "Master Sardines newest team to join growing PBA 3x3". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved January 19, 2022.

[8] Bacnis, Justine (November 2, 2021). "PBA 3x3 to have 13 teams". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved November 3, 2021.

[9] Li, Matthew (March 27, 2021). "Master Sardines commits to PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved March 27, 2021.

[10] Li, Matthew (July 19, 2021). "Ababou to lead Platinum Karaoke in PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved July 19, 2021.

[12] Li, Matthew (April 20, 2021). "Phenom-BRT Sumisip replaces Blackwater in PBA 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved April 20, 2021.

[14] "Louie Vigil leads San Miguel team in inaugural PBA 3x3". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved July 15, 2021.

[15] Li, Matthew (July 14, 2021). "Franky Johnson headlines Rain or Shine 3x3". Tiebreaker Times. Retrieved July 15, 2021.

[16] "TNT insists Gray committed to 3x3 team amid Taiwan rumor". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved July 15, 2021.

[17] "FAST FACTS: PBA 3x3 lineups, groupings, tournament format". Rappler. November 13, 2021.

[18] "PBA 3X3 gets going with 17-game opener". 3x3.pba.ph.

[19] "Meralco, TNT lead qualifiers to PBA 3x3 First Conference Grand Finals". 3x3.pba.ph.

[21] "PBA postpones 3x3 second conference tentatively". 3x3.pba.ph.

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