PBA: Mark Macapagal makes it rain, wins third three-point title

Meralco Bolt Mark Macapagal made lightning strike not once, not just twice, but three times, to retain his three-point shootout crown with a barrage of makes, Friday at the PBA All-Star Weekend in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte. After watching Jonas Villanueva of the B-MEG Llamados win his third obstacle course title in a row, Macapagal was motivated to keep his title as well. The trek was not entirely smooth though. In the first round, Barangay Ginebra King KG Canaleta sizzled, scoring 19 points, including a perfect 5-for-5 clip on the second-to-the-last rack. Macapagal put up 16 points of his own, but two other challengers matched his output, B-MEG Llamado Josh Urbiztondo, and newly-acquired Petron Blaze Booster Marcio Lassiter. With four players advancing to the final round, Canaleta went first and set the mark at 13 points, with Urbiztondo knocking in the same score shortly after. Going third, Macapagal fired in three moneyball shots, which made up for his missing all five attempts on the last rack, to wind up with 15. Knowing what mark to eclipse, Lassiter could have gone for the win, but he was the only finalist not to make a moneyball shot and finished with just 7 points. - Adrian Dy/ELR, GMA News